§ Mr. TruswellTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what plans he has to issue guidance to water companies regarding the provision of public warning notices at watercourses subject to contamination from combined sewer overflows. [97387]
§ Mr. MullinThe provision of public warning notices at watercourses is a matter for local Public Health Authorities in consultation, as necessary, with the Environment Agency.
§ Mr. TruswellTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what plans he has to deal with the contamination of watercourses by effluent from combined sewage overflows. [97388]
§ Mr. MullinThe Secretary of State's guidance to the Director General of OFWAT on the environmental and quality requirements to be placed on the companies during the period from 2000–05, issued on 1 March, included proposals for a substantial programme of improvements to combined sewer overflows. Priority was given to tackling failures to meet mandatory water quality standards and to reducing aesthetic problems resulting from unsanitary and unsightly debris left when combined sewer overflows operate. The Director General will announce his determinations of price limits on 25 November.