One of Somerset's MPs has defended the UK's water companies in the face of the ongoing backlash against raw sewage being released into watercourses.

Rebecca Pow MP, who has represented the Taunton Deane constituency since 2015, serves as parliamentary under-secretary for Defra within the current government.

MPs lined up at a Westminster Hall debate on Monday evening (November 15) to criticise the government for a perceived lack of action on sewage discharges – including a number of MPs from the south west.

Ms Pow responded that the recently-passed Environment Act was "world-leading" on this issue and highlighting recent investment by Wessex Water and their counterparts to tackle capacity issues.

The Westminster Hall debate was prompted by an e-petition calling for water companies to be banned from discharging sewage, which attracted more than 111,000 signatures.

Any official e-petition which attracts at least 100,000 signatures has to be debated in parliament.

Tonia Antoniazzi, the Labour MP for Gower in south Wales, opened the debate by calling for Defra to urgently address this issue.

She said: "The petition calls for an outright ban on water companies discharging raw sewage into watercourses.

"Personally, I think a lot of our constituents will be shocked to hear that it is currently legal for water companies to do this.

"How can it be okay for multimillion-pound businesses to absolve themselves of the responsibility for ensuring that our rivers and streams, and ultimately our seas, are free of harmful sewage?"

Kerry McCarthy MP (Labour, Bristol East) made reference to recent data regarding the poor quality of England's rivers, urging the government to take suggestions made by the House of Lords on board.

She said: "England has the worst river quality in Europe: zero per cent of our rivers meet good chemical standards, and only 14 per cent meet good ecological standards.

"We've heard how raw sewage was dumped into rivers more than 400,000 times last year.

"It is very disappointing that the government has repeatedly failed to back efforts by the Lords to protect our waters."

Ms McCarthy went on to reference Warleigh Weir near Bath, claiming that sewage discharges in the region were the caused of swimmers becoming ill.

She said: "Multiple cases of sickness have been reported in swimmers there.

"Wessex Water released sewage into the natural environment more than 14,000 times in the first eight months of this year.

"It has to be said that Wessex Water has denied that this would cause swimmers to fall ill. It has suggested that it was agricultural run-off, wildlife or whatever, but I would argue that sewage bears a fair part of the responsibility.

"We know that the cost of changing the sewerage infrastructure would be massive and would be added to bills, but the problem has got too bad for us not to seize the initiative and act."

Shadow environment secretary Luke Pollard MP (Labour and Co-operative, Plymouth, Sutton and Devonport) said it was unacceptable for the UK to remain "the dirty man of Europe" when it came to water quality.

He said; "I look at the party that is in power now and say, 'Where is the plan?'. We need to have a plan for raw sewage discharges that considers not only 'storm overflows' but a creaking sewage system.

"There is routine discharge of raw sewage into rivers and seas, not in the event of extreme weather, from combined sewer outflows, but as a result of daily discharges.

"I want higher fines for water companies, because it is clear that the level of fines are not yet producing a change in behaviour and stopping raw sewage from being routinely discharged."

A recent government study found that it would cost between £350bn and £600bn to completely eliminate sewage discharges during storm overflows – which would lead to the costs being passed onto residents in the form of higher bills.

In responding to the MPs' comments, Ms Pow defended the water companies' actions to date while admitting that more work was needed to address the issue.

She said: "Water companies are spending £144m in additional investment on storm overflows in the period 2020 to 2025, on top of the £3bn they are already spending on the environment.

"I did not say that they were doing everything that they needed to do, but my point is that they are not waiting until the next price review.

"Crucially, every water company now has to produce a sewage management plan – they did not have to do so before – and that will help.

"Water companies have been mentioned so much that last week I called them in before we thrashed out the final amendments. I read the Riot Act to them about the need, and the expectation, for them to do better.

"We need to work with them to make sure that that happens, and we have been very clear that if we do not see action, we will take enforcement action.

"I hope I have made it clear that the government are taking the issue very seriously. The measures are in place but there is, of course, more to do."