South West Water has admitted to underperforming when it comes to managing pollution incidents in Devon’s rivers and seas. In a document produced for Torbay Council it says: “We recognise that our performance is not where it needs to be.”
Questions will be asked of South West Water (SWW) at a meeting of the council’s overview and scrutiny committee next week (October 14), with the focus on storm overflows. Councillors are asking SWW why there have been ‘storm overflows’ over the summer when there have been no storms.
These are incidents, usually following heavy rain, when untreated water overwhelms the company’s treatment systems and results in untreated water being released. However, there have been concerns at the number of times sewage has found its way into waters enjoyed by swimmers and holidaymakers.
Nearly 1,300 suspected raw sewage discharges happened between January and May this year, but SWW says it has cut the number of spills by 17 per cent. The company said its ‘WaterFit Live’ online platform provided near-real time data for all storm overflows, reporting whether the overflow is active and for how long. But there is no way to validate the data before it is published online.
“This means occasional false readings can be published,” said SWW in response. “These false readings may occur due to factors such as leaves, twigs, bubbles, or foam. These can all indicate that an overflow is operating when it is not.”
In addition, says SWW, illegal connections are made to the sewerage network which can cause storm overflows to operate in dry weather. The company has to reduce spills from storm overflows to no more than 10 on average by no later than 2050, but says its plans are more ambitious and it aims to achieve this by 2040.
Another question from councillors says: “SWW has been labelled as the worst water company for environmental issues. What action is SWW taking to address this?”
In its written response the company says: “We recognise that our performance is not where it needs to be and we are investing significantly over this current five-year period to reduce storm overflows and pollution.”
