RE: Water Companies Monitoring13 Jan 2022 09:00
https://www.ft.com/content/92c869bf-8fe2-4430-abb3-fd0cd2d26a6c
In a damning report following a year of hearings from water companies, scientists and environmentalists, the House of Commons Environmental Audit Committee castigated regulators for a “complacent” monitoring regime that was “outdated, underfunded and inadequate”.
It said it was “alarmed” at the extent of sewage discharge, and of the misreporting and large spills by water companies.
“Our inquiry has uncovered multiple failures in the monitoring, governance and enforcement on water quality,” said Philip Dunne, the Conservative committee chair. “Rivers are the arteries of nature and must be protected.”
Bacteria found in sewage and animal slurry can cause sickness, but the quality of monitoring and information on river quality is “so poor” it was hard for people to get a complete picture of water health and make sensible decisions about when to go near the water, the MPs said.
Monitoring — which is often carried out through infrequent spot checks — has also not been updated to identify microplastics, persistent chemical pollutants or anti-microbial resistant pathogens, all of which risk harming animal and human health. “Wastewater treatment removes some chemicals, but current treatment methods have not been designed to deal with the vast array of chemicals in use in modern life,” the committee said.
So inadequate is the information provided that the Environment Agency, the environmental regulator, should create an online platform where citizen scientists such as the Windrush Against Sewage Pollution campaigners or the Ilkley Clean River group can upload their data on water quality, which should be recognised by watchdogs, the MPs proposed.
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