A comment from Nicholas Pegg

As this event unfolds, we’re seeing a clear choice. The choice is between a candidate who has facts and figures at his fingertips, has valid points to raise and coherent plans to propose, but who perhaps isn’t the greatest public speaker… and on the other hand, a candidate who has a glib tongue, a gift of the gab which is perhaps best described as Boris Banter Bollocks, and who will say absolutely anything if he thinks it will play well in the room.

And thanks to Newton Poppleford & Harpford parish council for hosting the event.

‘Question Time’: Richard Foord MP & Simon Jupp MP

Stream will begin at 6:45 for 7:00 start

No Facebook account needed, and a recording will be available afterwards for those not able to watch live.

https://www.facebook.com/events/359258383600776

Run by the Parish Council, this event is a sell out to local residents.

However, Owl has been told that the council intends to stream it on their facebook page.

So far this is unconfirmed.

A senior lawyer at South West Water justified withholding the data by saying “it is the regulators and not the press or the public” who should be able to view information regarding “complex technical and regulatory matters”.

Talk down to your consumers at your peril! 

Examples of “the little people” running rings around you are growing. 

By the way, the procedure derided by “my learned friend” is called transparency. – Owl

Adam Vaughan www.thetimes.co.uk

The chief water industry regulator has warned companies they are endangering public trust by withholding secret data that could reveal illegal sewage spills.

David Black, chief executive of Ofwat, said that six water companies should “not wait to be pushed” into releasing details of when they start and stop discharging raw sewage into rivers. He told the water companies they also needed to stop hiding behind an investigation he is running.

Cross-referenced with weather data, the water companies’ timings can show whether spills are happening when it is not raining — an illegal practice known as “dry spilling”. Experts believe widespread evidence of dry spilling is a looming scandal for the water sector.

Most of the six argue that making the information public risks prejudicing an investigation by two regulators, the Environment Agency and Ofwat.

However, Black unambiguously punctured that defence, saying that the investigation was no excuse for water companies to keep people in the dark about spill times. “They should not wait to be pushed. Customers have paid companies to install monitors and collect their data. They have a right to see what it says,” Black told The Times.

Much of the UK’s sewage system works by combining sewage and rainwater running off streets and fields, with companies legally permitted to dump sewage into waterways during heavy rainfall. Those permits do not allow for discharges on dry days.

When three other companies did release data on spill timings, the BBC, using weather data, alleged that the trio had dry spilled for more than 3,500 hours in 2022.

Polling for the Consumer Council for Water has shown that 43 per cent of people do not trust water firms to protect the environment, and last year Water UK, the trade group, apologised over sewage spills. Black said that to restore trust it was key that the six companies should be more transparent with their data.

“One of the prerequisites for building public trust is a culture of openness. As trust in the water sector is falling, that tells us companies have more to do,” he said. The head of the economic regulator said companies should “be more open in sharing their plans and progress”.

Dry spills are particularly egregious because raw sewage is likely to be less diluted and more harmful to wildlife and people. The charity Surfers Against Sewage noted that many swimmers will avoid entering water after days of heavy rain but not when it is dry.

A senior lawyer at South West Water justified withholding the data by saying “it is the regulators and not the press or the public” who should be able to view information regarding “complex technical and regulatory matters”.

The Information Commissioner’s Office, the data watchdog, is investigating six complaints brought by The Times over the refusal to release stop and start times. Greater transparency is one of the key demands of The Times’s Clean it Up campaign.

James Wallace, chief executive of the campaign group River Action, said the secrecy by the six companies was an act of self-sabotage. “At a time when they desperately need to build trust with customers and communities, they must demonstrate transparency,” he said.

He accused the six of hiding behind “a smokescreen of missing information and, perhaps, illegal behaviour” while water companies propose raising bills by about a third between 2025 and 2030, partly to pay for curbs on sewage spills.

“The government must make all water companies declare when they release untreated sewage, regardless of whether they are being investigated or any other excuse they may have,” said Wallace.

There is no public timetable yet for when the Ofwat and EA investigation will be published.

A Water UK spokesman said: “The UK water industry is one of the most transparent in the world. In rare circumstances when a formal investigation is under way data may be excluded from immediate release to allow the process to complete.”

South West Water said: “We absolutely agree that water companies have a responsibility to embrace open data.”

The Times is demanding faster action to improve the country’s waterways. Find out more about the Clean It Up campaign.

Geoff Crawford of ESCAPE Exmouth posted this hilarious video mash of Jupp quotes interspersed with statements of the facts on Simon Jupp’s twitter page. 

In case it gets “flushed down the pan” Owl will use a link to Claire Wright’s repost, see llnk below.

Watch video on this link

Are they pumping too hard?

A yellow rain warning is in place today which won’t help. – Owl

Tankerloads of sewage are again being transported through Exmouth to the Maer Lane treatment works after another burst pipe.

Philippa Davies  www.exmouthjournal.co.uk

South West Water are currently in the process of replacing a long stretch of pipework in Phear Park.

On Tuesday, February 13, a pipe burst in a field near Maer Lane, and tankers were brought in to take the waste water to the sewage treatment plant while the pipe is repaired. There were reports of sewage overflowing into Littleham Stream and being carried into the sea and on to the beach at low tide.

The Environment Agency issued a sewage pollution notice for the beach and bathing waters.

South West Water said: “We know there have been a number of bursts in this area in recent weeks and we want local residents to know that we are sorry. We will repair the burst as soon as possible and are also working on a long-term solution for the area.”

That’s not good enough for local campaigners ‘End Sewage Convoys And Poollution Exmouth’ (ESCAPE), who say it’s clear that South West Water’s existing sewage pipe network simply cannot cope.

Geoff Crawford from ESCAPE said: “We consider that these bursts are a direct result of them increasing pump pressure and sewage volume throughout without first replacing the old pipe, which SWW state has been determined to be compromised by age and decay.”

Jo Bateman, who is taking South West Water to court over sewage pollution in the sea at Exmouth, said: “It’s frustrating – this just goes on and on, without any acknowledgement from them that they’ve failed to add to the infrastructure as required and to maintain what’s there.

“They tell us the sewage system in Exmouth is not at capacity – but if it’s spilling over as often as it does, then it is over capacity.”

The MP for East Devon, Simon Jupp, said: “The ongoing situation is completely unacceptable and has once again demonstrated the dire need for fast-tracked investment into Exmouth’s water infrastructure, which I have demanded to be fully funded by South West Water.

“I have asked to be kept updated by South West Water on the situation ahead of my meeting with their senior leadership this week. We pay the highest sewage bills in the country. We demand better from South West Water”

Mr Jupp said he has also asked the water regulator Ofwat to include this latest incident in its ongoing investigation of South West Water’s performance.

However, Exmouth’s campaigners don’t think an Ofwat investigation will achieve much.

Jo Bateman said: “They get fined, but that’s not enough. For example last year they were fined £2.15 million pounds for illegal discharges but they gave their shareholders £112million. Those fines sound like a lot of money but it’s not for them, it’s a fraction of what they’re giving to their shareholders.”

In South West Water’s latest update on the Exmouth burst pipe, issued at 7pm on Tuesday, February 13, the company apologised for the traffic disruption caused by the tanker movements, and said: “We’re repairing the burst as quickly as we can and will be fitting an overland pipe in the next few days that will transfer wastewater around the burst section. As you are aware, this depends on weather conditions, supply of materials and any potential flooding, which has cost us delays previously.

 “Once the overland pipe is in place, tankering will stop. We’ll then refocus our teams on replacing the rising main on a permanent basis.”