The announcement of new legislation on sewage discharges comes as Labour prepares to force a vote in Parliament on its own plans.
Water companies will face legally binding targets to cut sewage discharges into the UK’s rivers, the Government has announced.
Environment Secretary Therese Coffey said the Government would announce “a clear, credible and costed legally binding target” as part of its plan to reduce storm overflows.
In a written statement to Parliament, Ms Coffey said: “Today, we are announcing plans to enshrine the plan further in law.
“Through the Environment Act 2021, we will legislate for a clear target on storm overflow reduction in line with our plan.
“A clear, credible and costed legally binding target will add to our transparent and determined approach to solve this issue, whilst keeping consumer bills low. This will also be backed by existing separate interim targets for bathing waters and our most precious habitats.”
The announcement comes as Labour prepares to force a vote on its own draft legislation aimed at bringing an end to sewage dumping.
The party said it will table an Opposition day motion in the House of Commons for a debate on the Water Quality (Sewage Discharge) Bill, introduced by shadow environment secretary Jim McMahon.
The private member’s Bill seeks to impose legally-binding reduction targets and automatic fines for companies found to be dumping waste in rivers and the sea.
Labour said the debate and vote on Tuesday would give Tory MPs an opportunity to support draft legislation that will put an end to sewage dumping “once and for all”.
Mr McMahon said: “It is clear that we have a Tory government that has run out of ideas, only regurgitating old announcements that do nothing to end sewage dumping. That is why Labour has brought forward legislation to clean up our water system.
“Today, Tory MPs have an opportunity to support Labour’s Water Quality Bill which will put an end to sewage dumping once and for all. Their constituents will be watching to see if they will put the best interests of our country before their party.
“The next Labour government will build a better Britain and end the Tory sewage scandal, delivering mandatory monitoring on all sewage outlets, introducing automatic fines for discharges, setting ambitious targets for stopping systematic sewage dumping and ensuring that water bosses are held to account for negligence.”
The Bill comes after Labour analysis of Environment Agency statistics suggested sewage was dumped every two-and-a-half minutes on average since 2016.
Rivers, lakes, seas and beaches faced a staggering 1,276 years’ worth of raw sewage over just a seven-year period, according to the party’s research.
But Ms Coffey said Labour’s proposals were “ill-considered” and defended the Government’s record.
“Labour have turned a blind eye to raw sewage being dumped almost twice as often in Wales where they are actually in government,” she said.
“They’ve turned Welsh waters into open sewers whilst playing politics in England. It’s clear they haven’t even read the Government’s plan.
“It was a Conservative government that introduced 100% monitoring of storm overflows.
“We’ve brought forward stronger regulations, tougher enforcement and the largest water infrastructure programme in history – an expected £56 billion investment – and we will make fines unlimited so that the polluter always pays.”
The Liberal Democrats’ environment spokesperson Tim Farron said Tuesday’s vote represented “judgment day for Conservative MPs on the sewage crisis plaguing our coastlines and rivers”.
He said: “Conservative MPs have spent the past year blocking tough new laws on water companies. They are trying to take the British public for fools with tough talk and no action.
“Communities across the country have had enough of Conservative MPs who would rather protect water firms over their local environment.”
