Southern Water 'cannot be trusted' to monitor recycled water, says Green Party peer
She expressed concerns over the presence of 'forever chemicals' in the water of the Havant Thicket reservoir
A peer at the House of Lords has said that Southern Water “cannot be trusted” to monitor its own sewage discharge and the use of recycled water at Havant Thicket reservoir.
Baroness Jenny Jones of Mouslecoomb asked the government what “independent safeguards” they intend to put in place at the reservoir to ensure that “pollutants do not present an unacceptable risk” at a debate in the House of Lords on October 14.
In response to the question, Baroness Sue Hayman of Ullock, the parliamentary under-secretary of state for the department of environment food and rural affairs, said: “Reservoir operations must comply with water framework directive objectives.
“Water companies are required to follow the drinking water safety planning approach, and must assess risks to drinking water from the water source.
“The planned raw water sources to supply the Havant Thicket reservoir have been monitored, and mitigations have been proposed where required, including for emerging substances.”
Baroness Jones said she was “deeply unsatisfied” with the answer as she said: “You can't trust Southern Water to audit its own discharges. These forever chemicals that I've referred to are highly poisonous and pernicious.
“There is no regulation to cover them at the moment. I repeat that we cannot trust Southern Water.
“Its Budds Farm wastewater treatment works was found in research conducted by the Marine Conservation Society to be releasing forever chemicals into the environment via treated effluent. We cannot keep allowing this. We have to put in regulations.”
She requested the government follow after countries like Singapore and establish an “expert panel” to audit the water supply.
Baroness Hayman said: “It's important to say that the project's going to use highly treated recycled water that's been through a series of very strict treatment and quality checks before it would enter the Havant Thicket reservoir, and water stored in the reservoir would then go through further treatment and testing before being supplied as drinking water.”
Ben Ring, Managing Director for Capital Projects at Southern Water, said: "We recognise that we have a great deal to prove but change is happening. Through our record £8.9 billion investment programme, we're focused on improving environmental performance and upgrading our infrastructure.
“Our drinking water quality remains among the highest in the industry. We welcome the Minister's clear support for water recycling as an important part of the UK's water resilience, recognising that innovative solutions are needed to secure supplies for future generations.
“Water recycling is a tried and tested approach, and any water recycled for drinking purposes would be treated to the same strict UK drinking-water standards as every other public supply, and closely monitored by our regulators.
"Tackling the presence of forever chemicals is a challenge for society as a whole. While we’re investing heavily in cutting storm overflows, and are removing more contaminants through wastewater treatment, the most sustainable solution is to tackle the issue at source by changing legislation to restrict or ban certain chemicals, and prevent them entering the environment in the first place."