Updates on our Longstanding Campaign to Improve Our Water:
Water quality is vastly improving. We should expect it to continue to improve as our systems become more efficient and effective.
Just 60 years ago, untreated sewage entered our water in an almost constant stream. That was grim but we can be confident that the situation today is enormously different.
As our monitoring and detection systems become more sophisticated, we are becoming increasingly aware of longstanding issues and more able to respond effectively.
We recognise that with increased capabilities to monitor and examine our water quality, out understanding of the severity of the situation will feel worse before we feel it improves.
Major investments in the entire water treatment system, from source to sea, are welcomed by all and many will now feel that we are over the hump.
Government legislation is tackling inaction from our water companies, addressing a lack of capability for our Environment Agency to address the problems, and further protecting our bathing waters to ensure we are safe when entering our open water.
Everyone in a community suffers when unacceptable waste is found along the beach and when sensitive river environments are poisoned by untreated discharges from main drains. Preventing unnecessary sewage discharge into our open waters through increased treatment and decreased overflow is a priority for all.
I believe that Southern Water's previous management knowingly did things that were wrong. I believe that the present management does not. We ought to trust the new regime but we must also hold them to their own expectations as well as to our own.
Fixing leaks must be the top priority of all water companies, not rewarding boardroom failure.
We should rightly expect water quality to be on a sustained path to improvement as our systems become more efficient and effective.
The quality of our water matters greatly not least to our seaside economy which relies greatly on our high-quality beaches and bathing waters.
Below are updates from recent years. More will come in due course.
