Environment minister pledges laws to cut dumping of sewage in English rivers

Rebecca Pow says government will have to report on efforts to reduce discharge from storm overflows

The environment minister, Rebecca Pow, has promised to bring in legislation to reduce discharge of raw sewage into rivers. Pow said that she would be placing a legal duty on government to come up with a plan to cut dumping by water companies by September 2022.

Pressure has been growing on water companies and ministers as evidence grows of the scale of the issue and amid increasing evidence of the poor state of rivers.