MP Josh Dean welcomes extra protection for Hertford and Stortford’s polluted rivers
The Government’s clampdown on polluting water companies has been welcomed by Bishop’s Stortford’s Labour MP Josh Dean.
The Water (Special Measures) Bill had a second reading in the House of Commons on Monday (December 16). The landmark legislation is heralded as the most significant increase in enforcement powers in a decade.
The bill has four key aims:
Mr Dean said sewage dumping in his Hertford and Stortford constituency rose by 54% in 2023 compared to the previous year.
Many of the waterways in East Herts – the Stort, Lea, Ash, Beane, Mimram, Quin and Rib – are part of a network of globally rare and internationally important chalk streams.
Said to be the UK’s equivalent of tropical rainforests, around 10% of the country’s chalk streams are found in Hertfordshire.
Home to species like the water vole, brown trout, grayling and bullhead, they are threatened by over-abstraction, water pollution and global warming.
Mr Dean said: “After 14 years of Conservative failure, raw toxic sewage is being pumped into Hertford and Stortford’s waterways.
“That is why the Labour Government has introduced immediate action to end the disgraceful behaviour of water companies and their bosses. Executives will no longer line their own pockets while pumping out this filth. If they refuse to comply, they could end up in the dock and face prison time.
“This Bill is a major step forward in our wider reform to fix the broken water system. The Labour Government will outline further legislation to fundamentally transform how the water industry is run and speed up the delivery of upgrades to our sewage infrastructure to clean up our waterways for good.”
The draft legislation will be scrutinised by a Public Bill Committee which is expected to report back to Parliament by January 16.
