Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department has taken to reduce the number of emergency discharges from emergency overflows.

Emergency overflows are separate to storm overflows and only operate in urgent circumstances such as electrical power failure and mechanical breakdown. The Environment Agency (EA) will issue permits for emergency overflows only in circumstances where the need to allow for emergency overflows to protect critical infrastructure, people and the environment outweighs the risk of a potentially polluting discharge occurring.

All permitted emergency overflows are required to be fitted with alarms which signal when there is a problem with the pumping station. Water companies must notify the EA when they detect a pumping station failure that is likely to cause pollution. When there is a problem, the EA will investigate and take enforcement action where necessary.

The EA require water companies to monitor emergency overflows associated with designated shellfish waters as advised by Government. In 2022, emergency overflows in these locations operated at an average rate of 1.5 times per overflow a year, while over 70% did not operate. This monitoring is being extended to all emergency overflows.

The water companies are currently planning for the next 5-year investment period 2025 to 2030. As part of this planning the water companies are expected to ensure their maintenance plans minimise the risk of failure of their assets and the impact, they may have on the water environment.