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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of sewage discharge on local ecosystems in Surrey Heath constituency.

For too long, water companies have discharged unacceptable levels of sewage into our rivers, lakes and seas.

That is why we are placing water companies under special measures through the Water (Special Measures) Act. The Act will drive meaningful improvements in the performance and culture of the water industry as a first important step in enabling wider, transformative change across the water sector.

The Environment Agency (EA) undertakes regular monitoring of the water quality in the River Thames catchment including the Surrey Heath constituency, and the assessment and proposed actions are set out in The Thames River Basin Management Plan. Water quality impacts from wastewater pollution are highlighted as one of the key pressures resulting in many waterbodies not currently achieving good ecological status.

The EA continues to respond and investigate any significant pollution incidents. There have been significant pollution incidents at Camberley and Chobham Sewage Treatment Works in the last few years and these are subject to ongoing Environment Agency investigations.

As part of Price Review 24 (PR24), Thames Water will undertake a significant investment programme to improve the environment over the 2025-30 period.These investments include: £784 million to reduce the use of storm overflows and £1.2 billion to prevent nutrient pollution. Ofwat expects the reduction of the use of storm overflows by at least 29% over the next five years, down to an average of 14 spills per overflow.