Anglian Water Briefing - Update on Sewage Outflows in the District
To receive an update from Anglian Water on sewage outflows in the District.
Members were requested to submit questions in advance for this session. Questions were not limited to sewage outflow but should be directly linked to water issues that fell within Anglian Water’s remit.
Decision:
Agenda item 10: Anglian Water Briefing - Update on Sewage Outflows in the District
Decision
RESOLVED:
1. That a letter be prepared on behalf of the Committee and sent to the Secretary of State and Local MPs requesting that the following be considered and addressed:
i. Water companies should be required to review their current business plans and ensure that they reflect the impact of new housing developments on service supply and demand, including the management of surface water drainage and run-off
ii. The possibility of a change in the legislation regarding the status of water companies as statutory consultees in the planning process.
2. That written responses to the questions raised by the Committee are provided by Anglian Water within 2 weeks and that the following additional information be included:
i. Data for North Norfolk regarding ‘dry day’ spills, including dates, location, rainfall levels and the reasons for the spill.
ii. Data regarding leakages in North Walsham for the last 12 months
iii. Information setting out how Anglian Water consults and engages with landowners regarding nature-based solutions for dealing with overflows and spills – such as reed beds.
3. That Anglian Water should attend in 6 months’ time to provide an update to the committee.
4. To support Anglian Water’s campaign on preventing blockages by sharing information with local communities.
Minutes:
The Chairman introduced Mr G Tuffs (Regional Engagement Manager) and Mr A Outram (EDM Regulation Manager) from Anglian Water to speak. They opened the session with a presentation which covered the following:
- An overview of storm overflows, why they occur, how they are monitored, planned improvements and AW’s annual ‘spills’ performance
- A summary of proposed investment across the region by Anglian Water between 2025 and 2030.
- An overview of AW’s ‘Just Bin it’ campaign.
The Chairman thanked them for the presentation.
She reminded members that some questions had been submitted in advance of the meeting and these would be addressed first.
Cllr J Toye had asked a general question about AW’s work programme and planned improvements and these had been covered by the presentation. The Chair said that it would be helpful to understand the percentage of investment in North Norfolk. Mr Tuffs said that £103m was a significant amount considering the size of the district, population and geography and the state of existing assets in the area. All investment was done on a priority basis – such as maintaining water flow and dealing with pollution.
Cllr C Cushing sought clarification on the size of the region referred to by AW – how large was it and which areas did it cover and he then asked how the schemes for North Norfolk were prioritised. Mr Tuffs replied that AW’s region was the largest by geography in the UK, stretching from North Lincolnshire, across to Oxfordshire and down as far as East London. There were 6 million customers and the landscape was challenging, including bore holes, rivers, coastline and a flat landscape. He added that there was a lot of investment in environmental protection, as mandated by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) and consequently, some of the money was already allocated for this purpose. He said that there were two new reservoirs in East Anglia, both of which were huge infrastructure projects. There was also a large desalination project at Bacton and the construction of a 500km strategic pipeline from North Lincolnshire to Cambridgeshire and then Suffolk and Essex.
Cllr N Housden said that investment of £103m over 5 years amounted to effectively £21m a year and the desalination at Bacton would diminish this amount substantially. Mr Tuffs replied that it was a long-term project and he didn’t have the cost figures available but would provide them after the meeting. He confirmed that research and development came out of the overall ‘pot’.
Cllr P Heinrich commented that there was a significant amount of development planned for the next 10 years and he asked how AW’s investment plans had taken population growth into account. Mr Tuffs replied that AW’s business plan had been developed before the current Government’s uplift in housing development and therefore did not reflect the impact this would have on water supply and drainage. He added that in the next 20 years, there would be an additional 700k new homes built and ... view the full minutes text for item 23