The following motion has been submitted by Councillor Murray:
“Southern Water was responsible for 16,888 sewage spills in 2022. In Eastbourne during last year alone, sewage was discharged into the sea by Southern Water for a staggering 434 hours. It is time that we hold those responsible to task for this tsunami of human waste polluting our sea water.
This volume of waste and the frequency of discharges show that the discharges have become routine, rather than an emergency response to exceptional conditions.
The Government has stated that ‘Climate change has led to increased rainfall and water infrastructure has not kept pace with development growth’.
In addition to having a negative impact on local wildlife in our rivers and beaches, it is also having a devastating effect on our tourism and the health and wellbeing of our residents who use sea swimming to support their health.
We must work together to hold those responsible for these travesties to account, stop allowing them to profit at our expense and ensure that they improve the infrastructure to stop this happening in the future.
The Council:
1. Calls on the Government and Southern Water to accelerate the capital programme to stop the risks of untreated sewage discharges into our rivers and seas and to stop this assault on nature, our economy and our basic human rights.
2. Calls on the Government and Southern Water to enable the widespread deployment of nature-based solutions for flood mitigation and improved water quality.
3. Calls on the Government:
a. To ensure a better resourced Environment Agency in its role as regulator, in order that enforcement and monitoring is improved.
b. To stop enforcing unrealistic housing numbers on local councils and force Southern Water to meet the costs of the required disposal of water from new homes once it is at street level, to improve the existing sewers to make them fit for purpose.
c. To reform the Regulated Asset Base model, and significantly reduce the weighted, adjusted cost of Capital, to stop rate Paying households underpinning company debts.
d. To make CEO’s of water companies personally responsible for excessive sewage discharges.
4. Asks that the Chief Executive and Leader write to relevant Government Ministers and Southern Water to call for these changes.”
Minutes:
Councillor Murray moved and Councillor Sayers-Cooper seconded the motion as set out in the agenda in relation to Southern Water, subject to a minor amendment to add in an additional recommendation at 3) to call on the Government, ‘e) To appoint a dedicated Minister for Coastal Communities’. Councillor Murray sought and received the permission of the Council to make this amendment at the start of the discussion.
Councillor di Cara moved and Councillor Shore seconded an alternative motion as follows:
“The Government has stated that ‘Climate change has led to increased rainfall and water infrastructure has not kept pace with development growth’.
The Council:
· Notes that whilst the use of Combined Storm Overflows are unacceptably high across the water industry, due to the strong action taken to date through measures such as the Environment Act and the Governments ‘Plan for Water’ all water companies, including Southern Water, have been required to publish Storm Overflow reduction plans. This has already seen a fall in the number and volume of overflows and lead to £7.1bn of investment in to improving the environment across the industry for the 2020-2025 period and £56bn of further investment over the next 25 years. Southern Water have committed to a record £7.8bn over the 2025-2030 period.
· Notes that in 2022, Southern Water committed to spending £50m on a number of pilot projects, including trailing nature-based solutions at the Stapleford Wasterwater Treatment Works with the ambition to cut carbon emissions and increase biodiversity. One of these pilot projects, on the Isle of Wight, saw the roll out of 6000 slow drain water butts and saw a 70% fall in the number of storm overflows releases.
· Notes that the Environment Agency’s ‘Environmental Resource Budget’ has almost doubled in recent years, from £56 million in 2020/21 to £96m in 2022/23.
· Notes that government housing targets have been scrapped and were only relevant to local councils who had failed to maintain an up to date local plan.
· Notes the key role the Regulated Asset Base Model has played in enabling £47bn of infrastructure investment into the water industry since privatisation, that has seen supply interruptions fall 5 fold, leakage fall 3 fold and pollution entering rivers and the sea fall 85% - with 93% of bathing waters now rated good or excellent, up from 76% in 2010. The loss of the RAB model would result in either infrastructure investment having to be cut substantially or very large increases to customer bills.
· Notes that the Environment Agency already has the powers to criminally prosecute chief executives and in partnership with OFWAT is currently carrying out the largest criminal investigation into the water industry, with the government now granting OFWAT the power to issued uncapped fines.
The Council commits to:
· Creating an action plan for sustainable drainage across all council owned buildings in the borough.
· Carry out an audit of all council owned buildings to ensure their sewage systems are not ‘misconnected’ to the surface water system in light of the previous failures in this area.
· Officers reporting back quarterly to the scrutiny committee on their work, in conjunction with Southern Water, to tackle illegal misconnections to the surface water network.
· Working with all relevant partners to support the roll out of storm attenuation measures in Eastbourne's parks and open spaces and the roll out of ‘green roofs’ on Council owned buildings.
· Reaffirms its support for the Regulated Asset Base model, in line with the national policy of both the Liberal Democrat and Conservative Partys.
· Using its communication channels to promote Eastbourne’s MP’s campaign to roll out free slow drain water butts for residents, funded by Southern Water.
· Using all available planning powers to ensure new developments in the town offer fully sustainable drainage.
· Writes to Southern Water to outline our desire to work with them on any future pathfinder/nature-based solution pilots.”
The motion and amendment were debated in full.
The amendment from Councillor di Cara was then put to a vote and lost by 8 votes for, 19 against.
The original motion as proposed by Councillor was put to a vote and carried by 19 for votes to 8 against.
RESOLVED (By 19 votes to 8):
“Southern Water was responsible for 16,888 sewage spills in 2022, “In Eastbourne during last year alone, sewage was discharged into the sea by Southern Water for a staggering 434 hours. It is time that we hold those responsible to task for this tsunami of human waste polluting our sea water.
This volume of waste and the frequency of discharges show that the discharges have become routine, rather than an emergency response to exceptional conditions.
The Government has stated that ‘Climate change has led to increased rainfall and water infrastructure has not kept pace with development growth’.
In addition to having a negative impact on local wildlife in our rivers and beaches, it is also having a devastating effect on our tourism and the health and wellbeing of our residents who use sea swimming to support their health.
We must work together to hold those responsible for these travesties to account, stop allowing them to profit at our expense and ensure that they improve the infrastructure to stop this happening in the future.
The Council:
1. Calls on the Government and Southern Water to accelerate the capital programme to stop the risks of untreated sewage discharges into our rivers and seas and to stop this assault on nature, our economy and our basic human rights.
2. Calls on the Government and Southern Water to enable the widespread deployment of nature-based solutions for flood mitigation and improved water quality.
3. Calls on the Government:
1. To ensure a better resourced Environment Agency in its role as regulator, in order that enforcement and monitoring is improved.
2. To stop enforcing unrealistic housing numbers on local councils and force Southern Water to meet the costs of the required disposal of water from new homes once it is at street level, to improve the existing sewers to make them fit for purpose.
3. To reform the Regulated Asset Base model, and significantly reduce the weighted, adjusted cost of Capital, to stop rate Paying households underpinning company debts.
4. To make CEO’s of water companies personally responsible for excessive sewage discharges.
5. To appoint a dedicated Minister for Coastal Communities.
4. Asks that the Chief Executive and Leader write to relevant Government Ministers and Southern Water to call for these changes.”
(At the end of this agenda item, the Council adjourned for a 10 minute comfort break at 8.20 pm).