ACT NOW ON SEWAGE, SAY LIB DEMS

Cambridge Liberal Democrats are calling for an urgent tightening of the regulation of water companies to stop the release of sewage into rivers. With a motion to Cambridge City Council next week they are pressing the new government to legislate to make water companies criminally liable for exceeding their performance targets and for executive bonuses to be witheld.

Cllr Cheney Payne, who was the Lib Dem Parliamentary Candidate in Cambridge, is proposing the motion at the full council meeting next Thursday, 18th July. She said:

“The release of sewage into watercourses is happening with alarming frequency, threatening both human health and the ecology of our rivers. The River Cam, which our city straddles, is as subject to this abuse as most rivers in the UK and it is of widespread concern. 

"This should not be happening in an industry which is supposed to be regulated in the public interest. When performance targets are flouted with impunity and water company bosses continue to be awarded high bonuses, this regulation is too weak and needs tightening up as a matter of urgency. 

“The Lib Dems campaigned in the General Election to put an end to this fiasco. With an avalanche of new Liberal Democrat MPs now elected across the country, including all three seats surrounding Cambridge, the new government, must respond with urgency to turn the tide of sewage in our water. I am hoping for legislation in the King’s Speech.”