As Ofwat announced their final determination of water price limits for 2005-10, the Environment Agency believed that this represented a missed opportunity to deal with the frequent sewage pollution of the River Thames, failing to provide a long term solution.

The Thames Tideway has, for many years, suffered badly from untreated sewage overflowing between 50-60 times per year from London's outdated combined sewer system. The severity of this issue was clearly demonstrated in August, when more than 600,000 tonnes of untreated sewage and wastewater wiped out hundreds of thousands of fish in a single day.

The Environment Agency has been seeking a satisfactory solution to this problem for several years, working as part of the Thames Tideway Strategy Group. This group also includes representatives from Thames Water, Defra, Ofwat, and the GLA.

Ofwat's settlement, which will determine water customers' bills for the period, sets the total investment level for water companies in England and Wales at £16.8 billion, of which £3.5 billion (21%) is earmarked for spending to address environmental problems.

Whilst the determination has revealed that London's sewage treatment works will receive the necessary upgrades, and also includes work on interim measures and investigations into the Thames Tideway storm overflows, no immediate provision has been made for a long-term solution.

These investigations will however assess the future requirements of the Tideway, and will be submitted to Ministers in February 2005. The Environment Agency believes this will enable Ministers to make a decision on the most cost-effective long-term solution to protect the River Thames.

Barbara Young, Chief Executive of the Agency, said: "A solution for the Thames Tideway needs to be agreed as soon as possible. The existing Victorian sewer system cannot cope with the scale of the twenty-first century city. Between three and five thousand people use the river for watersports. The overworked network is creating pollution, health risks to river users and sewage flooding in homes.

"We need a strategic long term solution, not palliative measures."

Jon Goddard from the Environment Agency, who sits on the Thames Tideway Strategy Group, said: "We will be resubmitting our further investigations next year and we are hopeful that as a result of this the planning stage of the project will be given the go?ahead."

Sunday, December 5, 2004

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