October 31, 2023
We had a wonderful time this year with our focus on rivers, including the Rivers Assembly back in Spring. As this programme draws to a close, we wanted to give you a round up on what has come out of the rivers work and where there are opportunities going forward. In short, we could not have hoped for more! It’s been truly inspiring to see the momentum gained and we’re now focussing on applying the learnings to the next Assembly theme, Education and Young People, planned for 24th February 2024.
Four river-specific groups have developed out of conversations at the Rivers Assembly: Wild About the Erme River (WATER), the Avon River Champions, the South Devon River Champions and the Sewage Scrutiny Group.
Find out more about WATER’s work in their article from September, which introduced the group and their plans, including a consultation on making Coastguards’ Beach a designated bathing water area (now closed and awaiting results!), and sign up to their mailing list here.
The Avon River Champions have also been taking some exciting steps, most recently training up Citizen Scientists all the way along the Avon with Westcountry Rivers Trust. Find out more about their work here, or get in touch info@avon-river-champions.org.
And an overarching networking group, the South Devon River Champions has been established to connect all the many and various rivers groups.
It’s important to view our relationship to water in the wider context too so we’re looking to run pilot projects around collecting and using rainwater. If you’d be interested in helping us with this, drop us an email: info@sussh.org.
The Sewage Scrutiny Group, who began their work at the Assembly, have been hard at work - read their report below:
This group developed from conversations at the SusSH Rivers Assembly. At the moment it has three members with a mix of legal and engineering/infrastructure backgrounds.
The Group's current focus is on South West Water's plans to reduce the use of Combined Storm Overflows (CSOs). CSOs are the outlets from public sewers designed to spill excess rainwater and sewage into the environment - our rivers and the sea. If sewers become inundated with rainwater, without the CSOs, there is a risk of sewage flooding back into homes.
South West Water has had to prepare a Drainage and Waste Water Plan (DWWP) which will be implemented from 2025 until 2030. The consultation periods for the draft of the DWMP have passed, but there are good reasons to conduct detailed scrutiny on the “final form” of the DWMP. The consultation was suboptimal and since it was concluded the Government has introduced its Storm Overflows Discharge Reduction Plan.
The Scrutiny Group visited both Totnes & Ivybridge Water Waste Treatment Works, both of which discharged wastewater containing sewage into the Dart and Erme for significant periods during the last three years. The Group was given very helpful and informative guided tours by senior personnel from South West Water. The Group also had meetings with SWW when they looked at the relevant permits and the various plans in relation to Totnes and Ivybridge.
South West Water are proposing to more than double the storm water storage capacity at Totnes, but at the moment this is unlikely to take place until after 2030. Originally South West Water appeared to have no specific planned improvements for Ivybridge. The Scrutiny Group has challenged the time frame for the improvements at Totnes and argued that they should take place more quickly given the Dart's designation as a Marine Conservation Zone (irrespective of possible designations of sections of the river as bathing water areas).
The Group also queried the lack of planned improvements for Ivybridge. After that query had been raised the Group was told that South West Water have changed their plan and will now expand storm water storage at Ivybridge, thus reducing the need to discharge into the Erme.
The Scrutiny Group is looking to expand its work to cover other aspects of the DWMP. They aim to continue working constructively with South West Water. They would be very keen to hear from anyone with relevant expertise who would like to join them. Please email martin@sussh.org.