Stephen Morgan MP joined Environment Agency regulatory officers at Eastney Pumping Station and Budds Farm Wastewater Treatment Works to see firsthand their efforts to ensure improvements to water quality.
These visits, which allowed the city MP to observe the management of Portsmouth’s sewage firsthand, were made ahead of the Government’s upcoming Clean Water Bill due to be introduced to the House of Commons following its announcement in the King’s Speech in May of this year.
The Clean Water Bill is set to will implement a series of major reforms outlined within the Government’s recent “A New Vision for Water” White Paper, delivering a once-in-a-generation overhaul of the water industry.
Measures within the bill are intended to shift the sector away from a system where water companies are able to mark their own homework by putting in place stronger, active supervision and oversight for the sector.
These include, but are not limited to, the following measures:
- Establishing an integrated and independent water regulator that brings together the relevant functions of the four existing regulators
- Providing legislative tools to allow for more ambitious targets for the delivery of cleaner rivers, lakes and seas
- Enabling pre-pipe solutions to reduce spills, such as sustainable drainage systems
- Consolidating and strengthening agricultural pollution rules
- Establishing greater enforcement powers for the inbound water regulator to protect the quality of drinking water
You can read about these measures in further detail within the “A New Vision for Water” White Paper, which can be found here.
The upcoming Clean Water Bill is building upon action already taken by this Labour Government since coming into office in July 2024, which includes:
- Securing a historic £104 Billion of private investment to upgrade crumbling pipes and build sewage treatment works across the UK
- Ringfencing the usage of customers’ water bills by water companies for spending on new sewage pipes and treatment works, preventing allocation towards shareholder payments and bonuses
- Reinvesting over £100 million of company fines into local clean-up projects in communities
- Allocating a record £189 million towards the Environment Agency to fund hundreds of enforcement officers to inspect and prosecute polluting water companies
- Forcing water companies to cover the cost of prosecutions and successful investigations into pollution incidents, enabling the regulator to hire more staff and pursue further enforcement activity
- Banning the sale of wet wipes containing plastic to reduce the presence of microplastics within our waters
- Introducing the Water (Special Measures) Act to ban unfair bonuses for polluting water bosses and threaten prison sentences for law-breaking executives
Commenting, Stephen Morgan, MP for Portsmouth South, said:
“Through the Clean Water Bill, this Government is delivering much-needed improvements to critical infrastructure by introducing major legislation to clean up the water industry.
“I would like to thank the Environment Agency for allowing me to join regulatory visits to see firsthand the work by the Agency to improve water quality and hold Southern Water to account.
“We must see further bold action to deliver fundamental, long-term reform that will also correct the 14 years of sector mismanagement under the Conservatives.
“I am committed to taking further action to clean our rivers, lakes, and seas. Portsmouth people can be reassured that I will be giving my full support to the Clean Water Bill to make that happen”.
Since being elected as the Member of Parliament for Portsmouth South in 2017, cleaning up the city’s bathing waters has continuously been one of Mr Morgan’s priorities for his work in Parliament and Portsmouth.
Beyond giving his strong support towards outlined measures taken by the current government, including voting in favour of the Water (Special Measures) Bill and Environmental Protection (Wet Wipes Containing Plastic) (England) Regulations 2025, the city MP has been working with local people, experts and organisations to tackle sewage pollution.
Additionally, Mr Morgan recently met with Environment Agency officials, prior to these regulatory visits, regarding Southern Water and the classification of Southsea East’s designated bathing water as “poor” in 2025.
During this meeting, the city MP passed on concerns from local people in response to the classification, along with general feedback on Portsmouth’s water quality and the impact of sewage pollution. Crucially, the meeting provided an opportunity to discuss long-term pollution reduction measures. Further details on this meeting can be found here.
For more examples of the city MP’s work on tackling sewage pollution, click here.
