Southern Water in the UK has published its Clean Rivers and Seas Plan outlining proposals, underpinned by £1.5 billion (€1.7 billion) investment between 2025-2035, to get to the root cause of storm overflows.
Storm overflows are part of the design of our combined sewer network, which captures both rainwater and wastewater.
These emergency outlets are the last line of defence to stop homes and communities flooding when the sewer system becomes overwhelmed by large volumes of rain or groundwater entering the network.
Out of almost 1,000 storm overflows in our region, 50% of these are already hitting the government’s 2050 targets, releasing 10 times or less a year.
This new plan will be the blueprint to address the remaining overflows. By 2035, 75% of the high priority overflows will be meeting government targets, reducing spills by an average of 8,000 a year, and by 2050 100% will meet these targets.
The first phase of this plan will be delivered between 2025 and 2030 and will see an investment of £700 million (€804 million) to focus on areas such as shellfish and bathing waters and environmentally sensitive sites.
CEO of Southern Water, Lawrence Gosden, said: “I’ve heard our customers’ concerns, and we take our impact on the environment seriously. We have a long-term strategy to 2050 that will restore and protect our regions’ rivers and coastal habitats and a large part of that will be to get to the root cause of storm overflows.”
Southern Water unveils £1.5bn investment in Clean Rivers and Seas Plan
