Urban Waste Water Treatment: Sensitive Areas (Hansard, 27 June 2002)

§ Lord Whitty

Based on recommendations from the Environment Agency, we have reviewed the identification of sensitive areas in England in accordance with the criteria in Part I of Schedule I to the Urban Waste Water Treatment (England and Wales) Regulations 1994 (which transpose the European Council Directive (91/271/EEC) concerning urban waste water treatment.

This review has resulted in the identification of 33 more water bodies in England as sensitive areas: 32 are because the waters have since the last review in 1997 been found to be eutrophic or may in the near future become eutrophic if protective action is not taken. Eutrophic waters are those which are, or may be, adversely (in terms of their ecology and quality) affected by discharges from sewage treatment works serving communities of more than 10,000 inhabitants.

The remaining water body, the River Itchen in the Midlands, which supplies drinking water, has been identified on the basis of elevated levels of nitrate under the terms of the regulations.

Identification of these areas will result in more stringent treatment being provided at 53 qualifying treatment works by water companies. This treatment involves reducing levels of phosphorus and/or nitrogen in discharges to tackle eutrophication and nitrate levels of these waters.

These new requirements on water companies to remove these nutrients from sewage treatment work discharges will complement and add to the action required by farmers under the Nitrates Directive and by my department on diffuse pollution, which I also announced today.

Lists of the new sensitive areas have today been deposited in the Libraries of both Houses. Maps showing the location of all current sensitive areas (eutrophic) and (nitrate) will be deposited in the Libraries of both Houses and at offices of the Environment Agency in due course.