Election rivals clash over “shocking” sewage dumping figures

WARRINGTON South Tory MP Andy Carter and his Labour election rival Cllr. Sarah Hall, have clashed over “shocking” sewage dumping figures for Warrington.

With more than 50 sewage dumping incidents across Warrington in recent years Cllr Hall criticised Mr Carter for voting against an amendment from the Environment Bill, requiring sewage companies to take all steps necessary to ensure untreated sewage was not discharged into rivers and to demonstrate improvements to the sewerage system.
But hitting back Mr Carter said there was no “quick fix” with an instant ban resulting in raw sewage floating down the streets and into gardens, with the Government working towards sensible solutions – not “cheap soundbites.”
With 125,000 miles of drains dating back to Victorian times, the cost of updating them would cost between £350bn to £550bn, roughly as much as was spent on the entire pandemic, which would fall on bill payers and/or utility companies – or both!

Cllr Hall says Dallam Brook, Orford Park, The River Mersey and Manchester Ship Canal have all fallen victim to sewage being released according to data collected by The Rivers Trust charity.
Currently, water companies only monitor around 89% of untreated sewage releases into rivers meaning there may be many more unknown instances across Warrington that have not been recorded.
Last summer, dozens of beaches were closed to swimming due to high levels of toxic waste. And, according to The Rivers Trust every single one of England’s rivers now fails to meet safety standards.
She says that under the Tories, there have been more than £235 million in cuts to environmental funding including a £24 million cut to monitoring services. Since these cuts were announced, raw sewage dumping has more than doubled.
In 2021, she says Tory MPs removed an amendment from the Environment Bill which would have required sewage companies to “take all reasonable steps to ensure untreated sewage is not discharged from storm overflows” and to “demonstrate improvements in the sewerage systems”.
Mr Carter was one of the Tory MPs who voted not to include the amendment.

Cllr Hall, Labour’s Parliamentary candidate for Warrington South, said: “The Tories are failing to protect our rivers and brooks.
“It’s shameful that the Government is allowing sewage to be dumped so close to people’s homes.
“Each week I’m out across Warrington South talking to local residents about the issues that matter to them. The deliberate pollution of our waterways is raised with me time and time again. Residents are furious. Rightly so.
“Like local residents, I am angry that the Government has allowed this practice to continue. I would encourage any residents who feel strongly about this issue, to sign Labour’s petition. The petition calls on the government to act urgently to stop the dumping of sewage in our local rivers and brooks. You can sign the petition here https://action.labour.org.uk/page/111844/petition/1?locale=en-GB
“In Government, Labour will strengthen the regulations to protect our rivers and coastlines. We will make sure water companies are held to account for their negligence.”

In response, Mr Carter said: “Time and time again Labour continue to misrepresent the action that the Government is taking to deal with this issue. Conservative MPs did not vote to condone the dumping of sewage in our waterways, far from it. The legislation passed in 2021 requires water companies to come up with a comprehensive plan to reduce waste discharges as quickly and practically as possible, and we are holding those companies to account on that.
“In this country, there are over 125,000 miles of drains which date back to the Victorian era. What Labour won’t tell people is that replacing that entire network would cost between £350bn to £550bn, that’s roughly as much as was spent on the entire pandemic. And that cost would either fall on people’s water bills, on the water companies, or both. I’m not prepared to see hundreds of Pounds added to my constituents’ water bills and there’s simply no way the water companies can afford this cost all at once.
“The hard truth is that there is no quick overnight fix to this. If there were to be an instant ban on discharges the alternative would mean sewage floating around in the streets and leaking into people’s homes and gardens. We can resolve this issue but it’s going to take time and investment, and that is what the Government is working towards – sensible solutions, not cheap soundbites.”