Asked by: Earl of Caithness (Conservative - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether, in order to secure the (1) water level, and (2) quality, of chalk streams, what plans they have to prevent HS2 from using water to tunnel through the Chilterns.
Answered by Lord Gardiner of Kimble
The Environment Agency is advising HS2 Ltd and their contractors on mitigating the potential impacts of their works on water level and quality of chalk streams. This includes water usage for tunnelling in the Chilterns. The Environment Agency will review any application for increased abstraction in the Colne catchment in line with the current Colne Catchment Abstraction Management Strategy to ensure that there is no detrimental impact on the environment.
Asked by: Anne Main (Conservative - St Albans)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps her Department is taking to ensure water companies responsibly manage their water abstraction activities from chalk streams.
Answered by George Eustice
It has not proved possible to respond to the hon. Member in the time available before Prorogation.
Asked by: Lord Stevenson of Balmacara (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they have plans to take urgent steps to tackle drought, abstraction and pollution relating to the Chilterns Chalk Streams; and whether any such steps will involve putting OFWAT's voluntary abstraction incentive mechanism on a statutory basis.
Answered by Lord Gardiner of Kimble
The Environment Agency is working with partners to protect and restore the Chilterns Chalk Streams. Where investigations have shown that levels of abstraction are unsustainable, the Agency works with Affinity Water to reduce pumping.
Since 2016, abstraction for drinking water has been reduced on 5 Chilterns Chalk Streams with further reductions planned by 2025. This will mean that up to 70 million litres of water per day will be kept in the natural environment, improving flows and making the rivers more resilient to drought and periods of prolonged dry weather.
The Government’s strategic policy statement sets a clear objective for Ofwat to challenge companies to further the resilience of ecosystems that underpin water and wastewater systems. We expect Ofwat to challenge business plans that are weak on ecosystem resilience, including their abstraction incentive mechanism (AIM) proposals. From 2016/17, companies are required to report annually on their AIM performance. From 2020, companies will have stronger, financial incentives to improve their AIM performance or risk incurring financial penalties.
Asked by: Desmond Swayne (Conservative - New Forest West)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent assessment has he made of the environmental sustainability of England's chalk streams; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Thérèse Coffey
Classifications of water body status published with the River Basin Management plans (October 2015) contain an assessment of environmental sustainability. These were last updated in autumn 2016. The Environment Agency continues to monitor water quality at thousands of sampling points and flow at its gauging stations across England. Chalk streams are well represented in these assessments.
Results for individual rivers can be found on the Catchment Data Explorer at http://environment.data.gov.uk/catchment-planning.
Asked by: Charles Walker (Conservative - Broxbourne)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps the Government is taking to restore river flows in Hertfordshire and Buckinghamshire chalk streams; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Thérèse Coffey
The Environment Agency (EA) is working with partners across Hertfordshire and Buckinghamshire to reduce abstraction and carry out a programme of river restoration projects on chalk streams.
The EA is working with Affinity Water to cease or reduce abstraction from 11 pumping stations on 7 chalk streams in order to improve flows. Through this partnership 70 million litres of water per day will be kept in the environment, enhancing 212 kilometres of chalk streams by 2025.
The EA, Affinity Water and partners have secured £5 million of funding for around 100 river restoration projects across 7 rivers in Hertfordshire and Buckinghamshire. This will include the removal of physical modifications, such as weirs, to improve fish movement and biodiversity.
Asked by: Mims Davies (Conservative - Mid Sussex)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment she has made of the effectiveness of environmental protections for chalk streams.
Answered by Thérèse Coffey
Objectives and actions to protect and improve chalk streams are included in England’s river basin management plans. These plans provide the framework setting out how our rivers will improve over the next 6 years from investment and activity across the sectors.
Working with Natural England, the Environment Agency carries out monitoring and works with water companies and other stakeholders where actions are identified to protect and improve our water environment including chalk streams.
The Agency has changed 63 abstraction licences relating to 15 chalk streams across England, which has returned 16 million cubic metres per year of water back to chalk streams. Further, as a result of River Restoration Strategies and Site Improvement Plans being implemented on Sites of Special Scientific Interest chalk streams, 70 kilometres of priority chalk stream have been improved since 2011. Water company investment on phosphate removal at sewage treatment works across England will also benefit chalk rivers.
Asked by: Mims Davies (Conservative - Mid Sussex)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment her Department has made of the damage from non-native crayfish to fish populations in chalk streams.
Answered by Thérèse Coffey
The Environment Agency’s ecological monitoring programmes have demonstrated a broad range of impacts caused by non-native crayfish on various river types. Most harm is attributed to the North American signal crayfish, which is now widespread in England. Studies have shown that signal crayfish can affect river quality in a number of ways, such as by direct predation of fish, invertebrates and plants, damaging our native crayfish populations and leading to increased siltation from bankside burrowing. Research on Yorkshire limestone headwater streams also indicates serious impacts on native trout populations.
The Environment Agency has supported a number of research programmes seeking ways to manage crayfish and is looking to prevent the further spread of non-native crayfish, wherever possible, through good biosecurity.
In 2010 we launched the Check,Clean,Dry campaign which promotes good biosecurity by users of water bodies to reduce the risk of spreading non-native species.
Asked by: Oliver Heald (Conservative - North East Hertfordshire)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 22 June 2015 to Question 2734, what progress her Department has made on restoring physical habitats on chalk rivers in North East Hertfordshire constituency.
Answered by Rory Stewart
Through its Restoring Sustainable Abstraction (RSA) Programme, the Environment Agency (EA) is working with local water companies and the Catchment partnerships to significantly improve the condition, flow and habitats of chalk streams Beane, Mimram and Lee.
As part of the Programme, Affinity Water and the EA have committed to investing £3 million by 2020 in habitat improvement projects for these chalk streams. These are currently in the planning and design stage. Delivery will accelerate as the Programme progresses over the next five years.
In order to achieve the greatest benefit from these works, Affinity Water has agreed to reduce abstraction from local chalk streams by over 40 million litres per day by 2024. It will significantly reduce abstraction at the Whitehall pumping station on the River Beane by 2018 by building a pipeline, currently under construction, to supply customers with water from alternative sources.
The EA partnership project at Waterford Marsh, also on the River Beane, has seen improvements for both wildlife and people through chalk stream restoration, pond creation, access repair, and the provision of new information boards.
Asked by: Oliver Heald (Conservative - North East Hertfordshire)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what progress her Department has made on improving the quality of chalk rivers in (a) Hertfordshire and (b) England.
Answered by Rory Stewart
The Environment Agency is continuing its work with local water companies to improve the quality of rivers in Hertfordshire. In 2014 several watercourses showed improvements in water quality linked to a reduction in polluted surface water outfalls and improved processes at sewage works. Through local engagement with the agriculture sector, the Environment Agency is identifying opportunities to reduce agricultural run-off including fertilizers and pesticides.
Through its Restoring Sustainable Abstraction programme, the Environment Agency is also seeking to improve flows in chalk rivers in Hertfordshire. Affinity Water has committed £5 million and the Environment Agency is also committing significant funds to the project.
Across England, a programme of physical habitat restoration is under way on these rivers (including the 11 chalk river Sites of Special Scientific Interest that need restoration). Led jointly by Natural England and the Environment Agency, this programme involves a range of statutory and voluntary sector partners. Since 2011, some 70 kilometres of chalk stream have been improved.
Water company investment has also contributed to substantial reductions in phosphate pollution, to which chalk streams are particularly sensitive, and additional investment is proposed to secure further improvements.
The Environment Agency has changed 46 abstraction licences for ten chalk streams across England. These returned 9.4 million cubic metres year of water back to chalk streams and removed the risk of another 1.6 million cubic metres per year being taken. This is equivalent to the average annual domestic water use of 200,000 people, or the approximate population of Peterborough.
Asked by: Oliver Heald (Conservative - North East Hertfordshire)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what progress she has made on improving the cleanliness of Britain's chalk rivers.
Answered by Dan Rogerson
Chalk rivers are well represented in both the national and European designated site network, which aims to protect sites of high conservation value. Action is under way on the majority of these sites to address pressures such as physical modification, effluent, diffuse pollution and abstraction.
A strategic programme of physical habitat restoration is under way on these rivers (including the 11 chalk river Sites of Special Scientific Interest that need restoration). Led jointly by Natural England and the Environment Agency, it involves a range of statutory and voluntary sector partners. Some 70 kilometres of chalk stream have been improved since 2011.
Defra has provided funding to support these activities. A new catchment-based approach to support river basin management planning is strengthening local engagement and helping the Environment Agency to better understand and respond to pressures on the water environment.
Water companies are investing £3.4 billion between 2010 and 2015 to support the achievement of Water Framework Directive environmental objectives. This has contributed to substantial reductions in phosphate pollution, to which chalk streams are particularly sensitive, and additional investment is proposed to secure further improvements. Water companies are also engaged in research to overcome technical limitations on phosphorus reduction.
Changes have been made to 44 abstraction licences affecting chalk streams. The Water Act 2014 will enable the Environment Agency to make further progress in preventing unsustainable abstraction. The Government is also putting in place a balanced package of measures to further tackle agricultural pollution
The benefits of these actions are likely to take some time to be reflected in reported water body status because the environment can take a considerable time to recover once pressures have been reduced.