Council supports blueprint for a greener water future

  • 9 April 2025
  • 2 minute read
  • Words Leilah Nicola
Councillor Paul Keene, chair, Lewes District council's Southern Water Panel

A “pioneering” report outlining a series of recommendations to improve water quality in the county of Sussex is to be shared with the UK government.

Described as a blueprint for a cleaner, greener, water future, the report is the culmination of a comprehensive two-year review, led by Lewes District Council. The council’s water panel heard from a range of organisations including Southern Water, Environment Agency, Natural England, Ouse and Adur Rivers Trust, National Farmers' Union, Environmental Law Foundation and local campaign groups.

Set up in 2023 to examine how Southern Water was managing storm overflows into the district's rivers and seas, the panel decided early on that it needed to hear from groups with a particular interest or insight into the issue. These insights were fed into the final report.

The panel also heard from Richard Murphy, professor of accounting at Sheffield University Management School, who spoke about his work on alternative sustainable financial models for delivering and maintaining water networks and water as a utility.

"This report is a pioneering piece of work for a local authority, and we are now calling on the government to take action."

Paul Keene, Lewes District Council

Water panel chair, councillor Paul Keene, said, "This report is a pioneering piece of work for a local authority, and we are now calling on the government to take action to address the serious problems that we have identified.

"We have engaged with a wide range of stakeholders to develop a far-reaching set of recommendations that we believe will make a real difference to the water quality in our district."

Recommendations to be sent to the government include:

  • A request for the government to provide adequate funding to upgrade sewerage infrastructure.
  • A call for the introduction of a new environmental impact rating for water companies.
  • A call for the government to invest in research into new technologies to treat and regulate emerging pollutants such as microplastics.
  • A demand that the monitoring regime for both coastal and inland bathing areas be improved.
  • A call for the introduction of measures to ensure transparent and ethical management of water companies.
  • Stronger requirements in the planning system to reduce water consumption.

The full report can be seen on the Lewes District Council’s website.