Select committee: Environmental Audit Committee
Conclusion 14
Fourth Report - Water quality in rivers
Published 13 Jan 2022
Paragraph 106
Environmental Audit Committee Water Quality in Rivers All items in this report Report on parliament.uk ↗ Inquiry on parliament.uk ↗
Conclusion (the committee's words)
Intensive livestock and poultry farming appears to be putting enormous pressure on particular catchments, such as those feeding the river Wye running through Wales and the south-west Midlands. The number of chickens being reared there appears Water quality in rivers 121 to have increased significantly, and pollution from their waste appears to be finding its way into river waters. The potential impact of intensive agricultural practices on river water quality must be fully acknowledged and the risks mitigated. One means of doing this is through farming which is as sensitive as possible to its effect on water quality in catchments.
From: Environmental Audit Committee, Fourth Report - Water quality in rivers (HC 74), paragraph 106, 13 January 2022
Government response
The government responded to the whole report on 16 May 2022 (deadline 13 March 2022).
Summary written by Accountability Index from the government's response. It is not the government's own words.The government welcomes the report and says it agrees there is "more to do", accepting many recommendations, declining some, and deferring others to consultations, reviews and future plans.
- On sewage monitoring, it "does not accept" the recommendation to install volume monitors at all overflow points, saying volume measurement is "limited by technical feasibility and cost" and "requires further consideration".
- It "does not agree" that planning authorities should adopt a broad policy against farming infrastructure, and "does not agree" that permitting is "normally an appropriate risk management response" for highway drains.
- On highways outfalls, National Highways "agrees to set out its plans" by the end of the 2022/23 financial year for how high-risk locations could be mitigated by 2030, but says it is "not possible to make a commitment" on funding at this time.
- On sentencing for water pollution offences, the independent Sentencing Council "will consider the recommendation in due course", and any changes to guidelines would be "subject to public consultation".