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 is taking to (a) ensure that planned upgrades to Markyate Sewage Treatment Works go ahead, in the context of Thames Water’s financial position and (b) to prevent further sewage discharge into the River Ver.

We expect the company to meet their statutory and regulatory obligations.

Thames Water’s current Asset Management Plan includes commitments to both maintain Markyate Wastewater Treatment Works and enhance its performance.

Capital maintenance includes a Groundwater Impacted System Management Plan to reduce infiltration, together with a Wastewater Asset Assurance Programme to avoid pollution incidents and ensure permit compliance.

Under the Water Industry National Environment Programme, Thames Water will deliver an improvement to reduce storm overflow spills at Markyate to an average of 10 spills. They must investigate whether the storm overflow at Markyate is having a local adverse ecological impact, which may drive the spill count of the delivered improvement below an average of 10 spills if it is identified as necessary.