HC Deb 27 February 1986 vol 92 cc671-2W
Mr. Denis Howell

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment what will be the effect on any EEC loan provision of the privatisation programme of the water industry.

Mr. John Patten

None. Privatised water authorities will be able to borrow from the European Investment Bank to finance projects in assisted areas, as they do now.

Mr. Denis Howell

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will state the total debt of the regional water authorities and for each individual authority.

Mr. John Patten

The total debt of each water authority at 31 March 1985 was as follows:

Authority Outstanding debt £m
Anglian 838
Northumbrian 407
North West 851
Severn Trent 787
Southern 321
South West 140
Thames 385
Wessex 226
Authority Outstanding debt £m
Yorkshire 507
English WAs 4,462
Welsh 422
England and Wales 4,884

Mr. Denis Howell

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will state which EEC regulations on water pollution are currently in force in Great Britain; and what is the effect of each such regulation.

Mr. John Patten

The following EEC directives relating to the pollution of surface and underground waters are in force in the United Kingdom:

  1. (1) Directives 73/404, 73/405, 82/242 and 82/243 concerning detergents. The effect is to require a minimum level of biodegradibility for certain types of detergent.
  2. (2) Directive 75/440 on the quality of surface water intended for the abstraction of drinking water. This ensures that surface water that is abstracted for use as drinking water reaches certain standards and is given adequate treatment before being put into public supply.
  3. (3) Directive 79/869 on the sampling of surface water for drinking. This supplements Directive 75/440 by recommending methods of measurement and sampling frequencies.
  4. (4) Directive 78/659 provides for quality objectives to be set for fresh waters in order to support fish life.
  5. (5) Directive 79/923 seeks to ensure a suitable environment for shellfish growth.
  6. (6) Directive 76/160 requires that the quality of bathing water is to be raised over time, or maintained, so as to meet specified quality standards.
  7. (7) Directive 76/464 sets a framework of controls for the discharge of particularly dangerous substances to surface water. To it are annexed two lists of substances. List I includes the more dangerous, for which controls are implemented by separate 'daughter' directives. So far daughter directives are in force for cadmium (83/513), mercury (82/176) and (84/156) and hexachlorocyclohexane (84/491). For controlling the potentially less dangerous substances in List II, national pollution reduction programmes are required and have been established by the United Kingdom for copper, zinc, lead, chromium, nickel and arsenic.
  8. (8) Directive 80/68 regulates the discharge of dangerous substances to underground sources of water.
  9. (9) Directives 78/176 and 83/29 (Amendment) mainly aim to prevent and progressively reduce pollution caused by waste from the titanium dioxide industry. Directive 82/883 lays down steps to be taken to monitor environments affected by wastes from the industry.

Mr. Hardy

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment (1) if he will list current and proposed recreational activities at Anglian water authority's Pitsford, Grafham Water and Rutland Water reservoirs; and if he will describe the measures taken by the authority to integrate these activities with the nature conservation interest of these reservoirs given their sites of special scientific interest status;

(2) if he will list those operations proposed by the Anglian water authority at Pitsford Reservoir and Rutland Water of which notice has been given to the Nature Conservancy Council as required by section 28 of the Wildlife and Countryside Act; and if he will detail the response of the Nature Conservancy Council in respect of each notice so received.

Mr. John Patten

I will write to the hon. Member.