Thérèse and Water Minister Rebecca Pow met local community groups, environmental regulators, farming representatives, water company representatives and local councillors in Woodbridge today to discuss actions to improve the River Deben. The roundtable, chaired by Thérèse, provided a forum for local partners to raise concerns and explore solutions to improve the health and sustainability of the river and to discuss delivery of the government's Plan for Water, which will bring increased investment, tougher enforcement and tighter regulation to the water sector.
Key areas of discussions included the designation of bathing sites in the area; pollution resulting from storm overflows, wastewater treatment and agriculture; water resources and how all these issues may be addressed through catchment plans. Ongoing work by Defra, the Environment Agency and partners to maintain and improve water quality along the river, and protect nationally significant saltmarsh habitats in the Deben Estuary was also discussed.
Action on the ground includes using farm visits, undertaken through the Catchment Sensitive Farming Initiative led by Natural England, to check compliance with all the relevant farming regulations. Guidance is also being offered to locals who are not connected to the mains sewer on how to ensure that their systems are functional, legal and maintained properly.
Thérèse said:
“As someone who enjoys spending time by the River Deben, I share the passion for protecting and enhancing its waters shown by our partners today.
“River water quality must improve and our new Plan for Water sets out how increased investment, tougher enforcement and tighter regulation is helping tackle every source of river pollution.
“At the Deben, I look forward to seeing greater collaboration from all parties locally as this is also vital if water quality is to improve.”
Water Minister Rebecca Pow said:
“It is clear the River Deben is a precious habitat for many in the community, but its under pressure from phosphate pollution caused by farming, storm overflows, and abstraction for agriculture and general impacts on river flow.
“One of the key parts of our Plan for Water is tailored long-term catchment plans with new funding for catchment groups. For this to succeed collaboration at a local level is vital so we can all work towards improving the water system together.”
At the meeting, Thérèse highlighted the importance of addressing individual river catchments in light of their own specific challenges and contexts – while maintaining a holistic approach to improving river health across the country.
To hold water companies to account, the Government has set strict new targets for water companies designed to frontload action in particularly important areas, like bathing waters and protected sites. The Storm Overflows Reduction Plan will also require the largest infrastructure programme in water company history - £56 billion capital investment over 25 years. The Water Minister will continue to engage with Anglian Water after the roundtable to drive further improvements in this area.
