Water Industry Attempt U-Turn On Sewage Treatment

Surfers Against Sewage are condemning Anglian Water for attempting to use the concept of sustainability as justification for discharging partially treated, pathogen ridden sewage to sea.

In a move that could bring about the return of raw sewage on our beaches and sickness after going in the water, Anglian Water have announced that they plan to challenge the UK government's interpretation of European sewage treatment legislation on the grounds that it is not environmentally sustainable.

Saying that the benefits to water users and the aquatic environment of treating sewage to legal levels are worth less than the benefits that would be felt by the wider environment if only partially treated sewage were discharged, Anglian are using the energy consumption of sewage treatment to justify a return to the pump and dump mentality of ten years ago.

Vicky Garner, SAS:

"Sewage treatment, like many other day to day activities, requires the use of energy. We don't deny it and it would be a backward water industry if they weren't looking to address the issue. We just find it ironic that the way Anglian are looking to address the problem is by downgrading the level of sewage treatment they provide. Surely their time would be best spent looking at innovative ways to reuse all the sewage sludge their treatment works generate so that they can produce their own renewable energy?"

"The company seem to have forgotten that first and foremost we pay them to provide us with clean drinking water and to treat and dispose of our sewage safely. Certainly they should have regard for the wider environment, but why does acknowledging the big picture have to be to the detriment of the local water environment and it's users? SAS feel that the water industry should have the expertise and the innovation to come up with a solution that fits all!"

The Anglian challenge - focusing on a sewage discharge in the popular sailing spot of Aldeburgh, is set to spark the water industry into debate. Energy consumption of sewage treatment is an upcoming issue of concern, particularly since the Water Industry is not subject to relief from the Climate Change Levy. If Government allow this proposal to go- ahead they are paving the way for other companies to follow in the footsteps of Anglian. SAS are urging Government to stick to their guns re sewage treatment and encourage the industry to develop their renewable energy potential.

For further details contact Vicky Garner at SAS on 01872 553001

For a contact at Anglian Water call Dr Stephen Bolt on 01480 323 115

Editors notes:

Under the 1991 Urban Waste Water Treatment Directive secondary treatment must be provided for all communities with a population of 2,000 or more by 2005.

Anglian water are arguing that secondary treatment is so energy intensive that atmospheric pollution caused by generating the electricity required, often outweighs the benefits to the marine environment of the secondary treatment.

Anglian Water are the first to question governments blanket requirement for secondary treatment, but other companies including Northumbrian Water and United Utilities are also looking at the trade off between marine and atmospheric pollution. These two Companies were flagged up by SAS in their report on the state of the UK Water Industry in 1999 (the Good, the Bad and the Downright Filthy!) and were ranked in the bottom section due to their poor record for sewage treatment and disposal.

Anglian Water are using a technique called 'ecological footprinting' to justify their claims. DEFRA are currently weighing up Anglians' argument.

Sewage sludge can be reused to generate electricity, either indirectly through the growth of energy crops on land spread with sludge or directly through gasification or pyrolysis. With the water industry facing ever tightening controls on sewage sludge disposal, SAS believe that now is the time the industry should be looking into innovative reuse options that are publicly acceptable and that can address some of the industry's energy consumption issues.

SAS recently gained Landfill Tax Credit funding for a project to carry out research into sustainable sewage sludge reuse. The project will include a significant public attitudes survey.

vicky@sas.org.uk