Hadleigh MP James Cartlidge has defended his decision to vote against a House of Lords amendment to the environment bill forcing water companies to not pump waste into the rivers Brett, Stour, Orwell and thousands of other rivers.

Critics of the government's decision claim our rivers are badly polluted and cannot wait for more plans and reports and the vote seriously questions the government's commitments to leaving the environment in a better state than when they took office.

But Mr Cartlidge, whose South Suffolk constituency includes the Shotley peninsula, which is bordered by two rivers, insisted he did not vote to see an increase of sewage in the Stour and Orwell, among others.

In a statement to Nub News he said: "It is frustrating that there has been so much misleading coverage and social media activity on this matter, and I would like to assure you that I would obviously be deeply concerned if there was an increase in the amount of raw sewage entering our rivers. I believe that it is important that we work to ensure that our rivers are clean and healthy.

"Last week's vote on amendment 141A of the Environment Bill, tabled by the Duke of Wellington in the House of Lords, has received a lot of attention, with opponents implying that the Government was supporting more sewage in our rivers. Section 141A did not present a delivery plan and did not contain an impact assessment.

"Eliminating storm overflows would require the transformation of a system which has operated since the Victorian Era.

"The preliminary cost of this overhaul is estimated to be anywhere between £150 billion and £650 billion. To put this in perspective, the entire policing, defence and schools budget is less than £150 billion. Without a full plan or costing, it would not have been reasonable to support such an amendment.

The Environment Bill, including amendments from the Government addressing concerns around storm overflows, is actually working to reduce the amount of sewage entering our waterways. Designed for use during extreme weather, storm overflows prevent sewers becoming overloaded with a combination of sewage and rainwater. However, climate change has led to increased rainfall and water infrastructure has not kept pace with development growth over decades.

"I am therefore glad that the Government has already taken action on this issue, amending the Environment Bill to help crack down on the pollution in our rivers, waterways and coastlines, to better tackle the harm that overflows cause. The Government have also announced that the Environment Bill 'will be further strengthened with an amendment that will see a duty enshrined in law to ensure water companies secure a progressive reduction in the adverse impacts of discharges from storm overflows'.

These new measures will require water companies to monitor the water quality impacts of their sewage discharges and to publish this information, with the Secretary of State able to make regulations in response.

"This will ensure water companies reduce sewage discharges that cause the most harm to the environment and public health. I understand that water companies will also need to publish near real-time information on when their storm overflows operate.

"Further, by September 2022 the Government will be required to produce a plan to reduce storm overflows and their harm as well as a report considering the costs and benefits of eliminating overflows entirely.

"Separately, Ministers will undertake a review of legislation which would require Sustainable Drainage Systems to be constructed to ministerial standards on new developments. I know that this "blue-green" infrastructure can deliver a number of benefits; it can prevent water entering foul sewers, reduce surface flooding, improve biodiversity and improve associated carbon emissions.

"More widely, I am encouraged that between 2020 and 2025, water companies will invest £3.1 billion in storm overflow improvements. This includes £1.9bn on the Thames Tideway Tunnel super sewer, as well as £1.2bn of other investment throughout England. £144m is additional investment after a call to action from the Storm Overflows Taskforce."

Mr Cartlidge's statement, is virtually identical to other put out by MPS and has drawn more criticism and scepticism

Martin Slater, of the Angling Trust, said: "We know from unconvincing, identikit replies received by our members that government MPs had been instructed to issue with a standard response to constituents which avoided the question of taking action to combat sewage pollution in favour of yet more endless monitoring."

*What are your views on water companies being allowed to pump sewage into our rivers and Mr Cartlidge's response? Email the editor: [email protected]