Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will prohibit the discharge of raw sewage into English watercourses. [76274]

Richard Benyon MP; Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State: All discharges to the river network, including discharges from sewage treatment works and associated sewer systems, are controlled by the Environment Agency's environmental permitting activities. In conjunction with the Environment Agency's monitoring programme this ensures that river water quality is protected. Combined sewer overflows (CSOs) allow the controlled discharge of dilute sewage mixed with rainwater when combined sewer systems become overwhelmed during periods of heavy rainfall. Such discharges are necessary to avoid sewage backing up and spilling on to roads or overflowing into people's homes. Since privatisation some 7000 CSOs have been removed or improved with further investment planned at close to 800 more within the period 2010-15.The construction of new CSOs is only agreed by the Environment Agency in exceptional circumstances. To completely eliminate the discharges from CSOs would be prohibitively expensive and offer little or no environmental benefit.