Pollution - urgent update

[Stuie]

View in browser | Members Update   Members Update October 18th, 2021 24 hours to force the government to stop sewage pollution - please act now! Dear Member Parliament will be debating the Environment Bill on Wednesday (20th October). This is the last chance  to make sure the Bill contains firm action to stop raw sewage pouring into our rivers and seas from storm overflows. We need you to EMAIL YOUR MP IN THE NEXT 24 HOURS to ask them to support clause 82 of the Environment Bill and resist any last-minute attempt by the government to weaken this clause. Clause 82 will place a “duty on sewerage undertakers to take all reasonable steps to ensure untreated sewage is not discharged from storm overflows”. This means Water Companies will not just have to monitor and report, they must act to stop this pollution. Please email ASAP as the vote is on Wednesday. Emailing your MP is simple. Just visit Theyworkforyou.com, enter your post code and when you get to your MP's page click the “send a message” button. Ask them to support Clause 82 of the Environment Bill at the Consideration of Lords Amendment debate and to tell them to resist any attempts by the government to change this clause. When writing feel free to tell them how passionate you are about our rivers and seas, and how you want clear and healthy waters fit for fish to swim in and people to enjoy. Template Text Whilst personal emails are more effective we realise that time is short so here’s a form of wording that you can cut, paste and adapt for sending to your own MP: “Dear [Insert Name] MP I am a keen angler and would like you to take action this week to strengthen the Environment Bill to end the scandal of untreated sewage entering our rivers and seas. There were a shocking 400,000 spills from storm overflows in 2020 and Clause 82 of the Environment Bill at the Consideration of Lords Amendment debate on Wednesday (Oct 20) is your chance to make a difference and take a big step towards ending pollution of our rivers and seas from raw sewage. The declining condition of our rivers due to pollution is a national disgrace and flies in the face of government promises ‘to leave the environment in a better condition for the next generation’. As anglers, we see first hand what damage is being done and I urge you to support the Lords Amendment to force water companies to stop pouring untreated sewage into our local rivers and seas which should be a haven for fish and wildlife and something we can all enjoy in safety.”   Please act now and thank you for your support. Stuart Singleton-White, Head of Campaigns Martin Salter, Head of Policy.   To find out more about our Anglers Against Pollution Campaign Click HERE   The Angling Trust We are a not for profit organisation, representing anglers, fighting for fish, fishing and the environment. We are recognised by the Government as the National Governing Body for angling in England and partner with Visit Wales and Natural Resources Wales to promote Fishing in Wales. We are a member-based organisation made up of anglers of all disciplines providing a united front to represent, grow and protect our sport. By becoming a member of the Angling Trust you are helping to protect the waterways you fish in and the fish which live within them, ensuring their health and protection for future generations. Click here for more information about membership Angling Trust Limited is a company limited by guarantee, company number 05320350 Angling Trust & Fish Legal, Eastwood House, Rainbow Street, Leominster, HR6 8DQ Telephone: 01568 620447

[Stuie]

Only takers a minute to copy & paste letter.....

[Jim]

Done.

Thanks Stuie.

[Graham Nash]

done

[jerry.shutter]

Well done Stuie, all ✅ 

[boyscott]

Done, thank you for the prompt

[2006holmwood]

sent

[great white]

Thanks for the prompt

 

Done

[Graham Nash]

It would seem that the vote went 265 to 202 against the amendment. 265 conservative MPs rejected the amendment and only 22 were for it. The difference was 63 votes, however 85 MPs were absent or abstained. There will be a second vote on Wednesday this week. There's a list of the MPs who didn't vote in the following link and instructions on what to do (if you feel strongly enough about it)

 

https://www.change.org/p/uk-parliament-make-reducing-sewage-pollution-a-legal-requirement-in-the-uk/u/29757972

 

 

[gaffa]

I think many people are unaware of the technicalities of this countries sewage treatment infrastructure.

 

In this country we have a combined surface water and foul water piping system to the wastewater treatment works.These treatment works are designed to treat a certain flow of influent based on the population of the catchment area and their produced solids .

Any influent flow above say 120% of the designed flow weirs over into a storm catchment system which basically is a series of tanks which can contain the overflow until the incoming flows subside and the contained storm flow can be returned to the treatment process.

If the incoming flows continue to be of such a level that they fill the storm tanks they will overflow to the watercourse sometimes via a plot of land allocated for capture of the "solids etc".

 

A further complication of this is that CSO's (Combined storm overflows)have been built into the pipeline infrastructure upstream of the treatment works to divert excessive flow directly to an alternative discharge point to reduce the loading on the treatment works .It is these that people generally complain about as they discharge directly into the water course whether it be river or beach. Without the CSO's there is a risk of flooding to upstream properties or areas as the system backs up .

 

The problems can be solved by separating the surface water drainage from the foul drainage but this will involve an enormous investment to the infrastructure to dig up and change EVERYONE'S manhole connection system.

Even if this could be achieved there may be further problems with blockages as there may be insufficient flushing of the foul drainage piping..

 

Privatisation of the Utilities section has had their bean counters sell off the spare land on existing treatment works for instantaneous short term profit which means there is no longer any capture or expansion land available and when the works need expanding to accommodate a increase in population new high tech and power hungry process systems have to be utilised to achieve what was previously done by gravity flow works and massive land area for biological filters etc.

 

How can a price and delivery estimate be calculated changing such a vast infrastructure project which is at least 150 years down the line Pie in the sky I believe is the term.

[Stuie]

View in browser | Members Update

Members Update October 25th, 2021

Environment Bill Update: A message from our CEO Jamie Cook

Dear Member A big thank you to all those who took the time and trouble to write to their MPs on the issue of sewage discharges into our rivers and to everyone who supports the work of Angling Trust, Fish Legal and our Anglers Against Pollution Campaign. As you may have heard, the Lords amendment to beef up the Environment Bill and force more action to tackle storm overflows was defeated in the House of Commons on Wednesday (20th October). But that’s not the end of the story. Thanks to the many anglers and supporters who wrote to their MP, 22 Tory MPs defied their party whip and joined the Opposition in support of our campaign by voting for the Lords amendment. This will be key to us keeping the pressure on the government to act, especially if we can increase this number next time around. You can see which MPs voted “No” to the government’s attempt to block the change here. The Environment Bill now goes back to the House of Lords for further debate tomorrow (26th October). Discussion is taking place between campaign groups, including the Angling Trust, and members of the House of Lords around another attempt to secure action. And Anglers Against Pollution continues to fight on other fronts. We are calling on the government to take bold action in giving new guidance to the regulator, OFWAT, to allow more investment in cleaning up our sewage systems and make water companies do more to tackle pollution. We set out the case in our recently published joint report, Time to Fix The Broken Water Sector which is gaining a lot of support and attention. You can rest assured that we are not giving up the fight for cleaner rivers and will continue to press for meaningful action to tackle the scandal of sewage pollution. Thanks again for all you did and we will keep you informed every step of the way. All the best, Jamie Cook, CEO – Angling Trust and Fish Legal   Download a copy of our Time to Fix the Broken Water Sector report HERE To find out more about our Anglers Against Pollution Campaign click HERE

The Angling Trust We are a not for profit organisation, representing anglers, fighting for fish, fishing and the environment. We are recognised by the Government as the National Governing Body for angling in England and partner with Visit Wales and Natural Resources Wales to promote Fishing in Wales. We are a member-based organisation made up of anglers of all disciplines providing a united front to represent, grow and protect our sport. By becoming a member of the Angling Trust you are helping to protect the waterways you fish in and the fish which live within them, ensuring their health and protection for future generations. Click here for more information about membership Angling Trust Limited is a company limited by guarantee, company number 05320350 Angling Trust & Fish Legal, Eastwood House, Rainbow Street, Leominster, HR6 8DQ Telephone: 01568 620447