Water companies: New petition calls for Environment Agency to demand firms filter out 'harmful' chemicals and microplastics

A sewage and water pollution think tank has started a national petition demanding the Environment Agency filters out the likes of heavy metals and microplastics from final discharge water. Waterways Protection says that currently water companies are not required to filter out “heavy metals, pharmaceuticals, disruptors, and microplastics in its final effluent standards” which “can lead to ecological harm and public health risks”.

The organisation adds: “We want the government to introduce stronger final discharge effluent standards for water companies in England that include these. We believe enhancing standards to include these is essential for environmental and community safety.”

The petition, which currently has over 1,000 signatures, needs 100,000 people to sign in order to trigger a debate in Parliament this summer. The organisation says that “without government action, water companies are unlikely to act” and it believes “immediate action is essential to safeguard our waterways and public health and prevent an impending ecological crisis.”

Despite calling for “harmful substances” to be removed from the final discharges of water from water companies in England the organisation said the petition is also “about demanding a total overhaul of how we treat our water.”

The organisation adds: “This isn't just another environmental plea. It's a wake-up call. We're not asking for change; we're demanding it. Our water, our health, and our planet's future depend on this. It's time for action, not just words. Join us in pushing for a future where our waters are not just clean, but truly safe.”

On the Environment Agency’s website, published in December 2016, it lists the chemicals that are already regulated in discharges through the Environmental Quality Standards Directive (EQSD) list for the Water Frame Directive assessments. The regulated chemicals include the likes of zinc, iron, chlorine and more. 

However, the anti-sewage pollution organisation says the “current regulations are a patchwork that fails to address the full spectrum of pollutants damaging our waterways.” It says it is missing “several critical contaminants, including microplastics and a comprehensive range of heavy metals and pharmaceuticals”.

NationalWorld has contacted the Environment Agency for comment.