Panorama tonight at 8.30pm investigates sand, sea and sewage. Already, on todays lunchtime news, the EA have said the only alternative to CSO's is sewage and water backing up through peoples toilets. There are tanking and sustainable drainage options as well as greater investment in the sewage infrastructure...thankfully then that the EA isn't the guardian of our environment.

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going to be more and more important as the 50 year flood event is upgraded to being a 1:10 or 1:15 event. Existing sewage systems are going to be unable to cope and thus rely on overflows more and more .

Don't forget this also has a significant effect on our rivers as town sewage systems and road runoff storage become overloaded more regularly. I believe this has been happening on the Wylye and only the hawk eyed presence of river keepers and anglers have challenged it.

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Don't forget that ofwat govern the amount of capital spend water companies are forced to carry out re sewer network infrastructure, treatment works improvements, storm sewage storage etc etc etc. The EA can and do ask for what they want............... ofwat then listen to the water company and how much joe public, bill payer will have to stump up to pay for it and, guess what........

EA's hands are tied. Also the instant replacement of , say one medium sized towns sewer network to, for example, double its capacity is physically impossible, even if there were several hundred million quid going spare to do it.

Would you mind declaring your interest please Ian?

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its not with public water companies. but my first reply accurately describes how things work

..........................

Watched it.

Oh dear. Fancy a paddle in the sea, anyone

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"In wine there is wisdom. In beer there is strength. In water there is bacteria." - German proverb
JH based near Southampton

There is no need to double the capacity of the sewers. The practice of combining sewage with ground water and rain is what is at fault. There should be no such thing as combined sewers. Rain water should go into soak aways. Sewage, only sewage, should go into sewers.

EA appears to be on the side of the polluter when it comes to the water companies. The woman from the EA on Panorama should be ashamed of herself.

richard

---------- Post added at 10:21 PM ---------- Previous post was at 10:17 PM ----------

Unfortunately for your theory, history shows that when the whole thing was in the public sector the situation was far worse. It was nationalised water authorities that granted themselves all the dreadful consents that the water companies and the EA use to claim legality and imply that nothing can be done about the problem.

If you want to make a really effective change, better to get rid of OFWAT, rescind all consents to discharge and use Common Law to prosecute the polluters.

richard

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Who resides on the right bank of the Derbyshire Wye and is lulled to sleep each night by the mutterings of a weir, dreaming that "When the rivers and their inhabitants come first, we ALL win..."

Re the top bit - Agreed - there should be separate foul and surface systems serving the whole country. Unfortunately, combined systems are all too common especially in urban centres and separating them involves replacing them, therefore it is the same thing. And don't forget that this work does not only involve the replacement of one pipe with two as per the mains, but each individual household's surface and foul connections must then be separated also..... costs a bit, that.
The speed and amount of expenditure required to 'fix' things as quickly as we all on this forum would like(especially me!), does unfortunately not exist, will not be enforced upon the water plc's by ofwat and even if it was you would get quite a few on here suddenly changing their opinion when an increase in water charges lands on the doormat well into the thousands of pounds.
We will have to be satisfied with a very slow and gradual upgrading of the foul sewer networks as decreed by others and lump it.

There is a stretch of coastline near me where I would go for a walk every now and again. You wouldnt believe the amount of sanitry towels washed up on the beach. Now I am thinking to myself I wish to god people wouldnt flush those but if theyre on the beach then what they hell other stuff is being washed up but I just dont notice it as easy. Its a popular sea front with public walkways but the beach is a stinking mess.

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