| Down the Plughole: why is our water so expensive? |
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Page 5 of 8 Campaign manager for Cornwall-based Surfers Against Sewage, Richard Hardy, said programmes like Clean Sweep have brought about an impressive level of improvements, but that there are ways of dealing with this without billing the customer.  Richard Hardy from Surfers Against Sewage had campaigned relentlessly for cleaner seas. Photo by Polly Martin. “South West Water has dragged a Victorian sewerage system into the 21st century and the improvements are now being appreciated all year round by resident and visitor water users alike,” he said. However, he warns that with the future impact of climate change, further building and development in Cornwall plus stronger EU guidelines for bathing water will mean even more investment will be required in the future. He said: “I’d like to see a multi-agency approach to dealing with this problem. Climate change and development, where we see large areas of Cornwall being concreted over, are all contributing to water run off which is putting great pressure on our sewerage systems. “Over the next five years, we will be working to address this. We want to maintain a clean water environment and improve on infrastructure but without customers having to pay big bills. “This might mean encouraging customers to become more water efficient which will help take the pressure off.” It is apparent that investment in Cornwall’s sewerage facilities, plus quality of bathing waters off our coastline, has come on leaps and bounds since South West Water took the reins. Yet it’s also clear that South West Water must take the lead in recognising that the world is changing and that, with both political and environmental campaigns underway against rising water rates, Cornwall will be even more reluctant to pick up the bill for future investment. Rachel Foster On the remaining pages of this article follow three connected sections. |
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