“Chapter 1ZA
Duty on Water Companies: Untreated Sewage

17ZA Duty on water companies: untreated sewage (England)

(1)

A water company in England must take all reasonable steps to ensure
that untreated sewage is not discharged into inland waters.

(2)

The Secretary of State, the Authority and the Environment Agency
must exercise their respective functions under this and any other Act
to seek to secure compliance with that duty. 

(3)

In this Chapter, “water company” means any company holding an
appointment under Chapter I of this Part (appointment of undertakers).

17ZB Requirements in connection with section 17ZA duty 

Reasonable steps to be taken by water companies in accordance with
the duty under section 17ZA include, but are not limited to—

(a)

maintaining and publishing a register of combined sewer
overflows (CSOs) and any other sewer catchment assets from
which discharges of untreated sewage may be made into inland
waters; 

(b)

publishing biannual reports on the operational status of those
assets;

(c)

installing capacity to monitor continuously all discharges of
untreated sewage into inland waters from those assets and
publishing the data so obtained; 

(d)

monitoring and publishing annual reports on the quality and
duration of discharges made from CSOs and any other sewer
catchment assets from which discharges of untreated sewage
may be made into inland waters; 

(e)

as part of drainage and wastewater management plans, setting
out steps to ensure that— 

(i)

biological or nature-based treatments are installed where
practicable and made operational at wastewater
treatment works discharging into inland waters that do
not otherwise provide for the tertiary treatment of
effluent; and 

(ii)

reliance upon CSOs is reduced; and 

(f)

meeting any requirements which may be specified by the
Secretary of State in regulations. 

17ZC Report on measures to assist water companies in fulfilling section
17ZA duty 

The Secretary of State must lay before Parliament a report on measures
taken by the Secretary of State, the Authority and the Environment
Agency to assist water companies in fulfilling the duty in section
17ZA — 

(a)

within one year of this section coming into force; and 

(b)

in every calendar year after the year in which that first report
is published.

17ZD Reports on performance against section 17ZA duty 

(1)

The Secretary of State must lay before Parliament a report on the
performance of water companies against the duty in section 17ZA — 

(a)

within one year of this section coming into force; and

(b)

in every calendar year after the year in which that first report
is published.

(2)

Reports under this section must include assessments of the quantities
of untreated sewage discharged into inland waters from each
company’s sewerage assets.”