Agenda item

Representatives from Anglian Water and Severn Trent Water will attend to present to the Committee.

 

The Committee considered briefing documents from Severn Trent Water and Anglian Water which set out responses to questions that had previously been asked by the Committee. Copies of the briefing documents, marked ‘Agenda Item 8’, are filed with these minutes.

 

The Chairman welcomed to the meeting for this item the following representatives from the water companies:

·              Jason Rogers, Head of Water Quality and Environment, Severn Trent Water.

·              Matt Lewis, Wastewater Networks Operations Lead, Severn Trent Water.

·              Russell Clarke, Water Networks Operations Lead, Severn Trent Water.

·              Dr Robin Price, Director of Quality and Environment, Anglian Water.

·              Linda Elliott, Regional Engagement Programme Lead, Anglian Water.

·              Natasha Kenny, Head of Quality Regulation and Enforcement, Anglian Water.

 

Arising from discussions the following points were noted:

 

(i)           There needed to be better partnership working between local authorities and the water companies, and inviting the water companies to attend local authority scrutiny meetings was the first step towards this.

 

(ii)         The Environment Act 2021 introduced opportunities for the water companies to work with farmers. Severn Trent Water engaged with farmers to help improve management of water on their land and in particular improve runoff from a pollution perspective. Severn Trent ran a Grant programme where farmers could bid for up to £30,000 to be used to alter their farming practices such as introducing regenerative crop rotation, using alternative pesticides and creating buffer zones on river banks to help reduce flooding.

 

(iii)        The water industry had inherited a legacy waste sewar network that combined drainage systems which carried both sewage and rain-water, however Severn Trent now held the view that it was better to deal with the rain water at the point where it fell rather than transporting it elsewhere. The Flood and Water Management Act 2010 introduced Sustainable Drainage Systems (SuDS) which managed stormwater locally and mimicked natural water drainage. There was no standard design for SuDS but Severn Trent Water would welcome the introduction of regulations around the design of SuDS. Anglian Water would welcome the opportunity to be able to adopt SuDS and to be involved in the design early on. In its role as the Lead Local Flood Authority the County Council would comment on planning applications and request that SuDS met a certain standard. Planning permission usually included monitoring requirements and the monitoring would be carried out by the local authority. Members welcomed the use of nature based solutions for water drainage.

 

(iv)       Alterations homeowners were making to their gardens and driveways were having an impact on drainage and measures needed to be taken to ensure that any changes to properties took into account best drainage practice.

 

(v)         In response to concerns about how existing sewage and drainage systems would be able to cope with all the new housing being built, Anglian Water referred to its long term Drainage and Wastewater Management Plan (DWMP). This contained an inventory of the capacity across the sewerage and drainage network and projections of future demand compiled using local authority growth plans and climate change estimates. Severn Trent explained that there were plans to increase capacity in some places, for example, in the Hinckley and Melton areas. However, the main aim was to reduce the amount of rainwater going into the system to ease capacity issues. The system was designed to be able to cope with 6 times the normal levels of water.

 

(vi)       Severn Trent Water aimed to respond to flooding caused by leakage from a sewer within 4 hours and to respond to leaks causing pollution into a river within 2 hours.

 

(vii)      In response to a question from a member about who was responsible for drainage systems on housing estates once the developers had left the site it was explained that this was not the responsibility of water companies. Instead the developer would have to set up a management company to manage the site on behalf of residents. Concerns were raised by a member that if developers did not put roads forward for adoption and the management company was forced to close, the highway drainage system on those housing estates would not be maintained. The Highway Authority would not take responsibility for the drainage systems in these circumstances. It was suggested that this issue required government regulation. Severn Trent Water noted that these roads were not the responsibility of the water companies but if the government did hand over the responsibility to water companies they would have to take this into account in their funding mechanisms. Home buyers would have to be aware of the risks when purchasing properties.

 

(viii)    The main causes of blockages in the sewage and wastewater system was fats, oils and grease and objects such as wet-wipes. Public information campaigns were taking place to warn of the consequences of doing this and deter people from blocking drains and causing pollution.

 

(ix)       The Environment Agency (EA) was the environmental regulator for the water companies. The EA measured each water company against 6 metrics and published a performance report for each company on an annual basis. Severn Trent Water had been awarded a 4-star rating which was the highest that could be obtained. However, it was emphasised that instead of comparing the performance of different water companies against each other it was more important for the water companies to collaborate with each other and improve the water network as a whole.

 

(x)         The finances of water companies were regulated by Ofwat and the water companies had to present to Ofwat how they wished to spend funding. Spending would be directed towards measures that both Ofwat and customers considered to be a priority and operated in 5 yearly cycles.

 

(xi)       Anglian Water was investing £811 million in their Water Industry National Environment Programme. This money was coming from customers’ bills and examples of investment included installing more storm tanks, removing nutrients such as phosphate and nitrate, and making water abstraction sustainable. A proportion of the money would be spent on monitoring the environment including water quality so it could be ascertained when and where action needed taking.

 

(xii)      The water companies carried out monitoring of their storm overflows and the sewer network which included measuring the levels within the pipes. This information gave advance notice of when a blockage was about to occur so action could be taken early.

 

(xiii)    Concerns were raised by a member that repairs of water pipes caused disruption to communities, including road closures, whilst they were being carried out and it was asked whether local authorities and the water companies could work more closely together regarding the timing of the repairs. In response some reassurance was given that Seven Trent Water were investing in innovative technologies so that repairs took less time to be carried out and caused less disruption.

 

(xiv)    Concerns were raised that whilst the water companies had set out their plans for improving rivers, recent data showed that the water quality of the River Soar had not improved. In response it was explained that in partnership with Anglian Water, Severn Trent had agreed a set of objectives for rivers - Get River Positive. Severn Trent were responsible for 130 rivers that were classified as Rivers Not Achieving Good Status (RNAGS) and Severn Trent had committed that by 2030 none of those rivers would be classified as RNAGS. It was agreed that further information would be provided after the meeting as to how that target would be achieved.

 

(xv)     In response to a question from a member regarding how Councillors could contact the water companies in an emergency and have their concerns prioritised it was explained that Anglian Water had the Public.Affairs@anglianwater.co.uk email address which could be used and the email addresses of individual officers at Anglian Water would also be provided to members. Severn Trent Water had a political affairs team and the contact details for them would be provided after the meeting.

 

(xvi)    Both Severn Trent Water and Anglian Water had committed to reducing their carbon emissions and become net zero by 2030. One of the biggest challenges in meeting their carbon targets was the changing scientific evidence around the carbon impacts of wastewater treatment processes which affected the offsetting strategies of the water companies. Severn Trent was aiming to produce 100% of its electricity utilising internal resources such as energy generation from sludge and other green technologies.

 

RESOLVED:

 

(a)        That the contents of the presentation be noted;

 

(b)        That Severn Trent Water and Anglian Water be thanked for attending the meeting and the information that they provided;