Maria said,
“Following reports of a storm overflow incident on Monday 11th March, I have written to Thames Water to request an urgent update on the situation and have asked for information on what measures are being taken to mitigate any further discharges. Thames Water must do all they can to prevent storm overflows from occurring in the future.
“We are fortunate in Basingstoke that our sewage works is one of the best-performing facilities in the Thames Basin, with additional headroom to treat a larger amount of wastewater if needed. However in exceptional circumstances such as the last several weeks, where we have seen four times as much rainfall as the seasonal average, the system can become overwhelmed.
“The Government has taken action to end the unacceptable environmental damage caused by storm overflow into our rivers by placing stringent targets on water companies to increase monitoring and prioritise reducing storm overflows, as well as forcing them to publicly disclose when untreated water has been released.
“Basingstoke should never have untreated water released into the Loddon, and I have continuously been clear that any storm overflows are totally unacceptable.
“Residents can monitor storm overflow activity via the Thames Water website, here.”
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