Government issues Storm Water Overflow Discharge Reduction Plan policy
Date published:
September 8, 2022
Water companies will have to achieve targets set out in the plan:
Storm-overflows-discharge-reduction-plan
· by 2035, water companies will have to improve all storm overflows discharging into or near every designated bathing water; and improve 75% of overflows discharging to high priority nature sites
· by 2050, this will apply to all remaining storm overflows covered by our targets, regardless of location
Overflows that are causing the most harm will be addressed first to make the biggest difference as quickly as possible, and water companies will be expected to consider nature-based solutions in their planning.
The plans will be reviewed in 2027 to consider how to go further, taking account of innovation and efficiencies, and impact on bills.
More from the water sector
Find out how the UK water sector is informing, innovating, and influencing change
PFAS water testing: why utilities are under growing pressure to get it right
Jenny Davies and Marie Armstrong from Element's environmental testing team discuss how the UK's PFAS Plan, AMP8 investment programmes and evolving DWI expectations are changing the way water companies approach monitoring, sampling and compliance.
No Single Fix: Why Water Efficiency Now Needs a Combined Approach
Every summer we talk about resilience. Every summer we reach for the same handful of tools, at the same cautious pace, while demand spikes get sharper.
Future-proofing water: why the supply chain is central to resilience
UK water sector faces rising drought and demand pressures - smart metering, data quality and supply chain innovation are key to building lasting resilience