Next steps on tackling sewage in the rivers in Bristol will be considered after cross-party calls for action. Bristol is the fourth-worst city in the UK for sewage spills, prompting calls for Bristol City Council to help clean up the rivers late last year.
Responding to these calls, council bosses have suggested they should carry on work that was already happening. No action will be taken on encouraging the use of water butts, while other steps like setting up a database of water quality will be referred to different organisations to do.
Last November councillors backed a motion calling for action on cleaning up rivers in Bristol. Next steps will be considered by councillors on the environment policy committee on Thursday, February 27. A committee report set out the potential action which the council could take.
This includes joining a new taskforce monitoring water quality, set up by the Bristol Avon Catchment Partnership, which coordinates the work of several councils, Wessex Water and farming groups. Data on water quality is published on different platforms, but these are “not all easy to use”, according to the report.
No action will be taken by the council to encourage the use of water butts to collect rainwater and reduce the amount entering storm drains and sewage systems. Despite this being a key plank of the motion, the report says that “this alone won’t significantly reduce the overall amount of rainwater in the drainage system at peak times”.
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The motion also called for an awareness campaign, informing the public of how to prevent sewage spills and what not to put into the storm drain system. In response, council staff will work with the West of England Combined Authority on a media campaign “with a focus on water”, although the details of this are unclear.
A major problem affecting water quality is misconnections, where wastewater pipes from private properties run into surface water drains. This leads to water from toilets or washing machines flowing into rivers. The motion said the council should work together “with external partners” to tackle the issue. In response, this action will be referred to Wessex Water.
One way many cities are tackling increasing rainfall is by creating “sustainable urban drainage systems”. These often look like replacing parts of pavements and roads with trees, soil and plants, which soak up rainwater and reduce the amount flowing into drains. The council will continue planning, installing and maintaining these systems, as it was doing so before the motion.
The final action included in the motion was considering the issue of sewage overflows. But the report says this is the responsibility of Wessex Water, the Environment Agency and Ofwat. In response, the council will “continue to work with Wessex Water” to improve how it manages sewage.