ICO demands discharge data disclosure

The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) has written to wastewater company chief executives, calling on them to proactively disclose information relating to sewage discharges on a monthly basis.

Water companies are obliged to release environmental information under the Environmental Information Regulations 2004 (EIR), both proactively and if requested by the public. The call follows a tribunal case in April involving Northumbrian Water, Stephen Lavelle v The Information Commissioner, which ruled that a legal exception – that releasing information will prejudice an investigation (the Ofwat/Environment Agency wastewater inquiries) – did not apply.

In a move away from its previous position, in May, the ICO issued six water companies – Anglian Water, Severn Trent Water, South West Water, Northumbrian Water, United Utilities and Yorkshire Water – with decision notices requiring them to disclose the start and stop time of sewage discharges.

The new letter from Information Commissioner John Edwards to water CEOs clarifies the ICO’s position on discharge data, in light of high levels of public concern and water company obligations on transparency.

Edwards said: “My message to water companies is simple – put transparency first. The public has no choice but to use our water companies, therefore these companies should ensure they have every confidence in doing so. The current concerns about sewage pollution have dented this confidence, so we’re calling on these companies to be open about their activities to help rebuild this trust. It’s both their responsibility and their legal obligation.”

• Anglian Water was ordered to pay £50,000 in fines and costs in court this month, for “failing, without reasonable excuse, to comply with a requirement to provide records to the EA”. This followed the company’s conviction in May in an information disclosure case brought but the EA as part of its wider criminal wastewater investigation.