Significant action needs to be taken in the short term to meet environmental targets. In 2023 Defra published the Environmental Improvement Plan and set targets for the sector to reduce leakage and demand, and address sewer discharges and phosphorus in treated wastewater. It published the Expanded Storm Overflows Discharge Reduction Plan in September 2023, which set targets for water companies to reduce environmental harm from combined sewer overflows to zero by 2050.44 The EA told us that th...

Significant action needs to be taken in the short term to meet environmental targets. In 2023 Defra published the Environmental Improvement Plan and set targets for the sector to reduce leakage and demand, and address sewer discharges and phosphorus in treated wastewater. It published the Expanded Storm Overflows Discharge Reduction Plan in September 2023, which set targets for water companies to reduce environmental harm from combined sewer overflows to zero by 2050.44 The EA told us that the Water Framework Directive set statutory obligations to improve the quality of water bodies, which need to be delivered by 2027.45 Over the next five ye Type: conclusion | Number: 16 | Response status: not_addressed Government response: The Government agrees that significant action needs to be taken in the short term to meet environmental targets. Defra has published the Environmental Improvement Plan and the Expanded Storm Overflows Discharge Reduction Plan, which set ambitious targets for the