Agenda item

To consider a report by The Director for Digital, sustainability and Resources, copy attached as item 7

Before the Committee was a report by the Director for Digital and Resources, a copy of which had been circulated to all members, a copy of which is attached to the signed copy of these minutes as item 7. The report before Members provided some background information to assist the Joint Overview and Scrutiny Committee (JOSC) in scrutinising the Adur and Worthing bathing water quality results and other Southern Water services. Officers from Southern Water will be attending this meeting to present further information on these issues.

Representatives of Southern Water were at the meeting to answer a presentation and answer questions. The representation was summarised as follows:

 

·       There had been a change in the company and there had been a £1bn investment in the company;

·       Overall £3.8bn had been invested;

·       Projects of particular note were network digitalisation, control centre improvements and operational response improvements;

·       There was a significant investment of £140m investment across Adur and Worthing;

·       The investment included a range of supply matter as well as a large investment in East Worthing to improve the resilience to improve treatment works as well as at Shoreham;

·       Members were told how money was spent with the majority of investment went to maintaining assets and keeping operations running. Other expenditure included taxes, rates etc and keeping costs down;

·       Targets included Event Duration Monitoring (monitoring of spills) technology installed at 100% of sites;

·       80% reduction in the use of storm overflows;

·       Zero pollution incidents by 2040 (it was recognised that this was currently too high);

·       Target 100 – the area was water scarce and investigations on how to move water across the area ie. from reservoirs across the South East, desalination re-use and a reduction of water usage;

·       Operating a fully integrated water environment working with all water users;

·       Southern water operated a combined sewer system in normal conditions the system handled raw sewage from domestic and industrial properties. In normal conditions barring a blockage this sewage would be treated to the required standards and discharged to a water course. In those circumstances storm overflows should not be used;

·       Rainwater entering the sewers from a number of sources in a combined system can cause storm tank overflows. New developments were encouraged to introduce systems whereby rainwater could not enter the sewage system;

·       There was a beacbouy sytem in place to show outfall events on the website of Southern water;

·       The company could not block up pressure relief valves as this could create flooding;

·       The company supported the amendment to the Environment bill and the company wanted to reduce the use of storm overflows by 80% by 2030;

·       There were 5 pathfinder projects to demonstrate principle on how to reduce the use of storm overflows;

·       There would be future engagement on the processes and studies on these issues;

·       There were broadly 3 types of interventions to reduce types of flooding and storm overflow use: upstream source control, system optimisation and infrastructure enhancements;

·       Members were given ideas as to what solutions might look like including smart water butts, water gardens and soakaways;

·       Members were told that bating water results for 2021 were good for Lancing, Beach Green and Worthing. Results for Shoreham Beach and Southwick were listed as excellent;

·       Details were given on plans for improving bathing water quality including desktop studies, site walkovers, lift look surveys, outfall caging, water sampling and CCTV investigation of foul sewer network;

·       Members were told of misconnections across the South East and were told that 3m litres of wastewater had been removed  from the surface water network and the environment;

·       Bathing water results had been improving since 2017, plans were outlined to further improve the situation;

·       Members were told about plans to build water neutral developments including water saving, carbon saving, money saving, improving resilience and enabling future housing

 

A Member asked the following question: I note from the presentation that the target date for zero pollution incidents is 2040. Given that when Southern Water was fined a record £90 million for deliberately dumping billions of litres of raw sewage  into protected seas over several years for , the sentencing Judge said the offences showed ' a shocking and wholesale disregard for the environment, for precious and delicate ecosystems and coastlines, for human health and for fisheries'. Taking into account the number of illegal pollution spills that have already been made, how is a target date of 2040 acceptable? Members were told that the situation was unacceptable and there was a need to focus on improvements for the future. There was a large task ahead as there was a large sewer and pumping network. Part of the challenge was using the investment to meet these targets. 0% pollution was the target. The network and where problems came from included irresponsible use of sewers and an education programme was needed and would take longer to solve. There were reports on the company’s website to highlight progress and setbacks.

 

A Member asked the following question: With climate change having a profound impact on water provision, water firms have been warned that the south east of England faces shortages in coming decades unless billions are invested in infrastructure. How much will Southern Water be investing specifically to mitigate the effects of climate change in a densely populated area such as ours? Members were told that work was undergone across the southeast as part of a water resource management plan. Movement of water across regions would have to be considered. A consultation was coming out in the summer to look at options. There would be significant investment in the process.

 

A Member asked the following question: Climate change and increasing urbanisation also increase risks of flooding. Torrential rainfall in the UK has seen properties devastated by flooding from foul water and sewage. How is this risk being evaluated and mitigated in our area? Members were told that there was a new process that was reviewed every 5 years involving a number of stakeholders. Options were being considered over the long term. It was recognised that the extreme rainfall being seen was happening, there was a need to consider thinking drainage differently beyond using bigger pipes. The drainage and wastewater management plan was the vehicle being used to recognise the effects of climate change

 

A Member asked the following question: Do you test the quality of the water at Ivy Arch Road, East Worthing and Sea Lane where spills were reported in 2019 and 2020? And if not what provision is there to test the water at these locations in the future? Members were told that a response could be reported later. If pollution had been spotted It would help Southern water to find out the sources of the problem.

 

A Member asked the following question: It is gratifying to see that Bathing water quality has improved in Worthing from Sufficient to Good. What is your strategy to improve this so that all areas are Excellent? There was hope that there was a natural improvement because 2017 results were no longer counted by DEFRA. Important work was work by misconnections, there were important educational projects aimed at beach users.

 

A Member asked the following question: Spill data published on the Southern Water website tells us that: The (combined Storm Overflow) CSO at Sea Lane Goring, reported 1 spill in 2019 and 6 spills with a total duration of 26 hours in 2020.  The Ivy Arch Road Worthing CSO discharged once in 2020. The East Worthing CSO discharged 3 times in 2020.These spills will have had a detrimental impact upon bathing water quality in these areas, Sea Lane is especially popular with the growing kite surfing community. What measures are being taken to reduce the frequency of spills to zero at these locations? Members were told that there were no investment plans for that area in the current year, however, there were regional plans across the south east for CSO reduction. There would be consultation on a study during the summer. Southern water would support an application for testing of other areas for bathing water quality

 

A Member asked the following question: Bathing water quality testing data published on the Defra website tells us that:The current status for bathing water quality in central Worthing (at Heene) is "Good" despite two elevated readings of e.coli and Intestinal eIntestinal Enterococci in June and July (2021). What is known about these two elevated readings? Did they coincide with weather events or CSO spills? Will these two elevated readings affect the 4 year rolling average or is the bathing water classification for 2022 still expected to be excellent? Members were told that the water qualification remained as excellent. There was not much known about the reading cited. There were no CSO releases at that time. The feeling is that the CSOs would not have had that effect and there was no knowledge of the weather at that time. It was offered that there could be further investigation to bring forward more substance. It was suggested that the matter could be included on an agenda for the technical steering group. Data shown on the Beachbouy app contained historic information to the start of 2021.

 

A Member asked the following question: Can WBC have access to the mapping of your assets - specifically Combined Sewer Overflows, foul and storm sewer lines, pumping stations and known overflow points and their operational status including the operational status of Event Duration Monitoring (EDM) technology? Members were told about the development of a product application interface so this could be linked to the surfers against sewage app and Southern Water would be happy to have discussions about whether this could be linked to a local authority. With regards to the asset question, Members were told that the belief was that the information was shared with local government technical officers but that would need to be confirmed at a later date.

 

A Member asked the following question: Your presentation states that customers directly affected by the Lancing sewage issues will be refunded, receiving a full back year of wastewater charges.  Those indirectly affected will receive six months.

I fully agree that those directly affected should receive the most compensation. However, the knock-on effect on the A259 and need for temporary lights have caused huge problems for local motorists, cyclists and pedestrians.  Residents have endured lengthy traffic jams outside their homes. How do you define "indirectly affected" and how wide is the scope? Is compensation given automatically or do people have to apply? Members were told that customers that live on the west side of the Westway were counted as being impacted indirectly this also applied to customers along the a259 that were affected by the traffic management and tanker disruption. Further information could be made available to those customers seeking confirmation at a later date after the meeting.

 

A Member asked the following question: What is Southern Water doing to address the fact that 60% of blockages are being caused by human behaviour - ie the disposal of un-flushable products. Are there new engineering solutions that could be further explored to reduce the impact?  What is being done to further educate the public? The Committee was told that a large proportion of pollution and flooding happened as a result of blockages. That had been a focus in the previous five years that would continue and support for the future would be welcomed. There were engineering solutions including monitoring sewer level monitors.

 

A Member stated that it was pleasing to hear that southern water could install waste pipes to houseboats, it was surprising that there was not a figure for the cost of this. It was asked how Southern Water could support residents to get those pipes installed. The Committee was told that it was joint effort with different agencies. The Council and Environment Agency would work with Southern Water to come up with solutions.

 

A Member asked the following question: Last year, Southern Water was fined £90 million for the widespread and long term breaches of environmental law that allowed 6,971 unpermitted sewage discharges into river and coastal waters from 17 sites across in Kent, Hampshire and Sussex between 2010-2015. Since these offences were found to be caused by deliberate failings, causing major harm (Category 1) to protected areas, conservation sites and oyster beds, how will SW rebuild public trust? Members were told that the first step was increasing transparency which included the introduction of the ‘Beachbouy’ system. The second thing was to address performance issues there had been significant improvements but there was a need to go further which was highlighted in the pollution incident reduction plan. Thirdly there needed to be action undertaken which was highlighted in the pathfinder plan

 

A Member asked the following question: When it comes to planning applications, Southern Water reports (whilst considering the application in question), often do not take into consideration the collective impact on infrastructure from combined surrounding planned or “in-build” developments. Why not a collective approach, it’s all additional pressure on pipe network? Members were told that Southern Water did capture the cumulative impact and worked with the Authority to project forward on planning development and housing projections.

 

A Member asked the following question: Can we be advised what the work to identify the misconnected household water drainage involved and has this now been completed? The Committee was told that the misconnections team were very proactive. When a problem was found through investigation the aim was to resolve the problem as soon as possible.

 

A Member asked the following question: In your professional opinion, what else needs to be done in order for Worthing to achieve an excellent rating, in what time Scale? The Committee was told that Worthing was already excellent. It was the job of Southern Water and Partners to maintain that standard and inform the public how to help to do this.

 

A Member asked the following question: I am the Adur District and Parish Councillor for Widewater Ward in Lancing and have been their Councillor since 2008. I am deeply concerned about the waste water mains on West Beach estate. The recent burst mains on West Beach are not a new phenomenon as this has happened before. Although mains were repaired one of them burst again immediately before Christmas, causing yet another very unpleasant smell and raw sewage on residents door steps that trod into their homes. It was stated in emails to myself and Tim Loughton MP that your representatives would knock on resident’s doors and talk to them however several said that no one came. I note that your report states that costs of water rated customers will be credited as a full year of waste water charges. This will not compensate for the horrendous experience of having raw sewage on their door step for Christmas. Myself and Tim Loughton MP received an email stating that a new Main would be fitted this year, however your statement to this Committee says that this would be difficult and would not be easy. Can you please tell me exactly when the new Main is likely to be fitted. This problem will not go away in its present state and the same situation will happen again on West Beach. Incidentally there was another leak there last Friday , this time a water main that sent a fountain of water into the air.Re your referral to water quality , it has been reported by Kite Surfers that untreated sewage has been seen in the sea off Lancing Beach. The Committee was told that there had been impact and there was a commitment to replace the main. The job was underway and were targeting the current year. However the main was a complicated main and there were options that needed to be drawn up.

 

A Member asked the following question: On New Monks Farm: Do you have an update on connections to the main sewer from the New Monks Farm development, as to whether the foul sewer from the training ground has been connected yet to the main, and is the new wastewater pumping station on site in operation yet and what connections have been made to it? Is Southern Water still confident it will handle all the extra flows? The Committee was told that it was connected and in operation. There was no awareness of flow or capacity issues on that site.

 

A Member asked the following question: Whenever the 30 ton tankers used the highway on West Beach to deal with the recent burst pipes, they have further damaged the very fragile road and pavements. Isn’t it SWs duty to repair anything that it damages whilst carrying out these works? The Committee was told that this was correct, damage was being assessed and this would be rectified within the/a month.

 

A question was asked about the river Adur. The river was being used a lot and there was concern about elevated levels of enteric bacteria. Were there any investigations into the levels of enteric bacteria and where is was coming from and was there any joint working With the Environment Agency. The Committee was told that to act there would need to be designated as a bathing river. This would allow sampling and justification of investment. A proposal was put forward to move towards designating the Adur in Shoreham as bathing water. This was proposed, seconded and approved

 

A Member asked if any CSOs in Worthing were being investigated for removal. Members were told that there was no awareness of any but that Southern Water would get back to the Committee on this issue

 

A Member asked a question about micro-plastics and what was being done to measure the emanation of micro plastics from the works of Southern Water. Members were told that micro-plastics had been banned to some degree. The Environment Agency were working on this area. Members were told that the matter would need to be taken away and reported back on.

 

A Member asked how sheltered Southern Water was from interest rate rises and whether investment was ring fenced away from an increase in debt repayment. Members were told that regulatory businesses where somewhat protected. Investment made the company more resilient to changes in interest rates.

 

A Member asked about reports of untreated sewage on lancing beach. Members were told that they would need more information to be able to comment. It was recognised that there needed to be some guidance about what was pollution and what was naturally occurring.

 

A member asked about targets across the Southern water region and where local plans, targets and timescales for Adur and Worthing fitted in. Members were told about the drainage, wastewater management planning process whereby objectives were set on a locally important basis. This was available on the website

 

 

Recommendations:

 

      I.         Installation of water sampling at sea lane, goring by sea;

     II.         Enabling and/or improving linking of asset mapping and the sharing of information with the Councils;

   III.         Southern Water specify to the Environment Agency  the DNA sampling this bathing season so that there could be an improvement in pollutant identification;

   IV.         Southern Water propose alternative methods of meeting the cost of connecting the houseboats to the main sewer, revisit previous meeting notes, representation made in relation to costs and involving the houseboat association. Options should include the management of grey water and black water tanks used by boats. To set up a joint meeting in future to take the matter forward;

    V.         That Southern water check alignment of assumptions against planning permissions and in-build developments for the collective effect on the infrastructure;

   VI.         To work together to designate the river Adur in Shoreham as a bathing river to enable bacterial testing;

 VII.         That the Committee receive information on the levels of micro-plastics entering the water courses if available;