Local MP Alan Mak has met new Southern Water CEO Lawrence Godsen to call on him to continue the water company’s work to reduce discharges. Mr Mak met Mr Godsen at the Budds Farm wastewater treatment works in Havant where the pair also viewed storm water tanks which will be expanded to boost local storage capacity to reduce discharges.
On the same day Mr Mak also took part in the fourth Southern Water Regional Forum which he established. The Forum brings together local MPs, councillors and community representatives to keep up the pressure on Southern Water to reduce discharges. At the Forum Mr Mak welcomed the new CEO of Southern Water and called on him to maintain the company’s work to comply with their new legal duties under the Environment Act 2021 to reduce discharges.
Mr Godsen committed to producing a plan to reduce discharges and also promised to launch a new independent review of the BeachBuoy discharge notification system. This was in response to Alan and other regional MPs vocalising the concerns of local residents who have said that the system is unreliable and fails to give advance warning of discharges.
Mr Mak founded the Southern Water Regional Forum to keep up the pressure on the water company to cut their discharges, and he chaired the Forum’s first meeting in 2021 which brought together MPs from the Solent region, local government representatives, community group representatives and representatives from Southern Water.
Southern Water have confirmed that they will meet the new legal duty set out in the Environment Act which was approved by Parliament last year. This makes them legally bound to produce a detailed plan for reducing discharges into Langstone and Chichester Harbours.
They have also confirmed that they will cut pollution incidents by 80% by 2025. Part of the work to ensure they meet this target includes the planned expansion of their stormwater tank capacity, allowing the Budds Farm plant to hold more waste water rather than releasing it into the outflow system.
Local MP Alan Mak said: “I’ve been campaigning to reduce Southern Water’s discharges for several years and I created the Forum to keep up the pressure on them. I welcome new Chief Executive Lawrence Godsen to his post and I have called on him to ensure Southern Water meet their legal obligations and develop a plan to reduce discharges.”
