§ Baroness Byfordasked Her Majesty's Government:
How often the emergency drain, agreed by the Environment Agency for the discharge of raw sewage from the Camborne project, has been used. [HL2996]
§ The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Lord Whitty)The emergency overflow of the station used to pump sewage from the Camborne development to Uttons Drove treatment works has discharged twice since the Environment Agency's consent was issued in April 1999.
The first, for several hours on 22 October 2001, happened when major flooding occurred within the 178WA Camborne catchment. The second was for a few minutes on 6 November 2001.
Overflows are a necessary part of sewerage systems as they help to prevent flooding of properties by backed-up sewage. The Environment Agency consulted on and considered a wide range of water quality issues in determining the consent application, and set stringent conditions to minimise operation of the overflow. These safeguards include storage and solids separation to reduce the pollution from any overflows.