Council pushes SWW for transparency

South West Water is to be held to account for the decisions it makes over the waters of the Exe Estuary.

Members of Exeter City Council have voted to follow the example set by colleagues in the South Hams, where members are calling for the water company to fill in a ‘transparency template’ every time they upgrade their pipes and infrastructure.

The idea is that councillors can check what South West Water (SWW) is doing, and hold the company to account if it fails.

Green councillors said they wanted SWW to be held to account for ‘shocking’ levels of pollution in the Exe.

Cllr Tess Read (Green, St Davids) proposed the motion and said: “It’s shocking that our rivers are not considered clean enough to swim in.

“Exeter residents don’t want a river running through our city that is a potential public health hazard. They want, and deserve, a waterway that is clean and safe for people to enjoy and nature to thrive. 

“As the Labour government has made improving river quality a key priority, we are urging all Exeter city councillors to push South West Water to be transparent about when and how they are going to clean up their act.”

Cllr James Banyard (Green, St Davids) added: “Residents are rightly frustrated when sewage warnings go up, when swimmers and rowers have to stay out of the water, and when the wildlife that depends on these ecosystems is put at risk.”

“As a council that has declared a climate and biodiversity emergency, and with the Exe estuary recognised internationally for its importance, we have a duty to protect our rivers.”

But some councillors warned against ‘grandstanding’ and said it would be more effective to talk to SWW in a scrutiny meeting.

Cllr Yvonne Atkinson (Lab, Alphington) said: “If we are serious about the River Exe, we ought to have this discussion in scrutiny, not grandstanding here at a council meeting where we all want to wear our hearts on our sleeves and say how wonderful we are.”

And council leader Phil Bialyk (Lab, Exwick) said it would be valuable to discuss the template with local district councils.

“It would be quite powerful if all the districts in Devon were saying this to South West Water,” he said.

Members agreed to ask SWW to complete the template for all its projects, for Cllr Bialyk to discuss the issue with Devon’s district councils and for SWW to be invited to respond to the city council’s scrutiny committee.

Cllr Read summed up: “Our rivers should be clean from the source to the sea. We should all be able to regard that as our birthright.”