However, all is not what it seems.   

Steve Reed, Environment Secretary,  is reported to be  “furious” about an average 36% rise in water bills in England and Wales.

He said he would resign as environment secretary if the government failed to halve sewage pollution in rivers by 2030. “Politicians come and say we’re going to do things. Of course our job should be on the line if we don’t.”

This 2030 deadline is after the dissolution of this parliament. Steve Reed needs to judge himself on a meaningful target a little bit sooner than this to carry any credibilty.

More fundamentally this target is flawed as Feargal Sharkey told the Guardian:

“It’s an act worthy of a Greek tragedy telling your regulator that you’ve come up with a plan that turns out to be worse than the one they come up with a year and a half ago. The government has decided to axe Ofwat while announcing targets which are worse than theirs. Their plan is not worth the paper it’s written on.”

Reed announcend that he would cut sewage spills by 50% by 2030 against 2024 levels. However, Ofwat’s goal would reduce sewage spills to 204,893 by 2030, compared to Reed’s which would reduce them to 225,199 by that year.

Defra sources said Reed’s target could be stronger than Ofwat’s because for 2021 storm overflows baseline only 87.8% of overflows were monitored. The 2024 baseline includes 100% monitoring. However, the two figures are largely similar.

Another one worthy of “Sir Humphrey”! – Owl