Sewage
Preamble
1. Local residents are deeply concerned about water quality and the impact of regular wastewater discharge - which includes untreated sewage - into our local rivers (and on into the sea), and its impact on wildlife and on human health.
2. In 2022, Northumbrian Water Limited (NWL) discharged sewage into the Tees catchment 5,334 times, for 19,512 hours. Within Darlington Borough, we saw 530 discharge events, totalling 2,179 hours of raw sewage release. It’s clear that release of sewage into rivers is no longer an emergency-only situation, occurring as a result of severe storms, but an everyday occurrence even in ‘normal’ rainfall, and that we are in a situation of cumulative overload on the sewage and wastewater system.
3. Not one of the rivers in Darlington Borough is classed as ‘Good’ for Ecological and Chemical Status under the Water Framework Directive. The UK has the dirtiest rivers in Europe.
4. Rockwell Local Nature Reserve (LNR), home to otters and kingfishers, would be the local wildlife site most likely to be affected, as the River Skerne flows through its meanders and other habitat created before its designation in 2005. But pollution could also affect other borough wildlife sites and what goes into the Tees catchment affects the Teesmouth & Cleveland Coast Special Protection Area & Ramsar site, with its nationally and internationally important waterbird species.
5. Whilst there are long-term commitments, there are no published plans in place which will address the immediate unacceptable situation either locally by Northumbrian Water Ltd, or by national government.
6. As part of the Water Framework Directive and river basin management plans, local authority Development Plan Policies are expected to require that development does not lead to deterioration of water body status; protect sensitive locations, and protected areas identified in river basin management plans; and require upgrades to local water infrastructure, for example, for strategic development sites in strategic site allocation policies. Darlington’s Local Plan policy DC2 states this requirement.
7. There is no clear local position statement by the Environment Agency, which has overall responsibility, to clarify cumulative impact of sewage overload on our wildlife and habitats. The River Tees catchment is affected by the related issue of water nutrient neutrality which has directly led to a pause in development, yet increase in sewage overload from planned new homes seems not to be accounted for. However, Natural England and/or the Environment Agency have commented on many major planning applications across Darlington requesting details of sewage infrastructure plans or other mitigation measures, to ensure they align with the development’s build time, or confirmation there is sufficient capacity in the network to accept foul flows without increasing storm overflow spills. In some, they recommend use of Grampian conditions so development cannot proceed until after Northumbrian Water Ltd. has increased its sewage treatment and pipework hydraulic capacity so the overall impact of sewage overload into rivers is not increased by new development.
8. Both local and national planning policy requires a robust approach to both water quality and pollution, and a recent legal opinion from the Environmental Law Firm confirms the need to consider cumulative impact. Yet when assessing new planning applications, this Council does not ask Northumbrian Water Ltd. to tell us about cumulative impact i.e. whether or not development may lead to any potential increase in ‘emergency’ discharge into rivers and seas.
This Council therefore notes:
1. It has a legal duty to protect its rivers, the Tees Estuary and sea, including from the cumulative impacts of pollution, in line with its local planning policy, the National Planning Policy Framework and the Northumbria River Basin district river management plan;
2. That there is clear evidence of deterioration of water quality due to cumulative impact of multiple sewage discharge events or ‘sewage overload’.
This Council resolves to:
1. Ensure an evidence base is compiled to fully assess and better understand the cumulative impact of sewerage discharge on our Borough’s rivers, wildlife and the health of its residents so this is factored into decisions made in future updates/new iterations of the Local Plan, including the overall level of future development.
2. Write to the Environment Agency asking it to issue a position statement in relation to Darlington Borough, which sets out its understanding of the cumulative impact of 530 sewage discharge events on our rivers, or if it is not willing to do so, to provide the reasons why.
3. Ask the relevant Scrutiny Committee(s) to invite the Chief Executive/relevant representatives(s) from Northumbrian Water Limited, plus senior representatives from the Environment Agency and Natural England, to attend a meeting to answer questions on the current levels of sewage discharge and plans to address it.
4. Ask Northumbrian Water Limited, from this date onwards, in its planning consultation responses for major development, to state which treatment works will manage the sewage; whether it has the information available to assess the impact on sewage discharges (number, duration & volume) into local rivers or seas; and if it does have this information, to share it (noting that this can only be requested, not required).
5. Request that from now onwards, all planning reports relating to Major developments include a specific section on the impact on watercourses in line with Local Plan Policy DC2, the NPPF, the Water Framework Directive Regulations 2017 and the Northumbria River Basin Management Plan, including the potential for the development to affect sewage outflow into watercourses (i.e. cumulative impact), or to flag if this information is not fully available, so this information (or the lack of it) is clearly and transparently set out.
Minutes:
The Motion was withdrawn by Councillor Holroyd at the meeting.