Source · Select Committees · Environmental Audit Committee
Recommendation 20
20
Paragraph: 128
The sewage sludge currently spread on agricultural land contains microplastics which have been caught in...
Recommendation
The sewage sludge currently spread on agricultural land contains microplastics which have been caught in the wastewater treatment process. It may also contain e-coli, antibiotics, biocides, persistent chemical pollutants and pharmaceuticals. This practice appears to be the principal means of disposal of biosolids from such processes. If it is to continue, a means must be found to ensure that the microplastics 122 Water quality in rivers which find their way in to waste water are disposed of safely and not spread over food-growing farmland thereby polluting productive soils. The Government should commission an independent evaluation of the potential risks to human health and the environment of spreading sewage sludge, with all the pollutants it contains, on farmland.
Paragraph Reference:
128
Government Response
Acknowledged
HM Government
Acknowledged
The Government is currently exploring the best way to make data generated by the Environment Act duties available to the public. The annual summary returns of spills as required from the Environment Act 2021 (141C & 141D) provide the high-level picture that most stakeholders require. Publishing the volume of discharge and quality of the water receiving discharge, where measured, is also supported and is already a requirement of the Environment Act 2021. Response provided by Ofwat to the recommendation at paragraph 180 Ofwat agree that reporting needs to be suitably detailed, accessible and transparent to all, and note companies have existing obligations in relation to environmental information under the Environmental Information Regulations 2004, which they expect them to comply with. Ofwat will continue to work with the Environment Agency to make progress on improving reporting by the end of 2022. Water companies should be reporting in a standardised and comprehensive way on the details of their discharge permits, permit compliance and spill data. The Environment Agency, companies and other key stakeholders are best placed to identify the optimal monitoring requirements. As the Committee sets out, the statutory requirements on monitoring and transparency introduced by the Environment Act 2021 will establish a welcome baseline. This, along with the existing monitoring and reporting requirements and those commitments agreed through the work of the storm overflows taskforce, will help ensure that water and sewerage companies are making their data transparent and accessible to regulators and the public. Important for achieving this will be the acceleration of installing event duration monitors. As more data becomes available, Ofwat will work with the Environment Agency to keep our regulatory approach under review, including assessing whether future regulatory action is required. Alongside this, Ofwat are making the case for more open data in the water sector. Across the sector Ofwat have seen some good practice, but very few companies have introduced open access to their data sets.