The Cambridge Green Party called on the City Council for a declaration of a water emergency throughout the county, claiming “urgent action” was needed to address the ongoing crisis.

The statement pointed to the gravity of the water crisis in Cambridgeshire, insisting that it must be dealt with immediately to mitigate negative impacts on the local community and environment.

On Wednesday, King Charles announced the Labour government’s new measures to enhance regulation of the water industry as it responds to public disdain over the pollution of rivers and seas.

The new bill will hold water company executives criminally liable for violating water quality laws.

A spokesperson for Cambridge Labour Party stated that they are “very pleased” with the measures, and believe it is the “action we need” to tackle the water crisis.

The Green Party, speaking the day before the King’s Speech, claimed that flooding, drought, polluted rivers, failing sewage treatment plants, and dried up chalk streams are all having adverse effects on agriculture, infrastructure, and health in the region.

The Greens also said that water companies have forecasted an insufficient water supply by 2030, according to the Cambridge Water Resources Management Plan 2024.

This comes despite proposed increases of 13-14% for Cambridgeshire water bills.

Tony Eva, a local environmental campaigner, claimed that the main problem facing Cambridge’s chalk streams is that water companies are excessively extracting from underground chalk aquifers. The Green Party has urged the Council to make water companies cap these extractions.

Jean Glasberg, Green Councillor in the Newnham Ward, insisted on the need for a water emergency declaration and suggested that “global heating is causing extreme weather events which are having a serious impact on our water resources”.

Glasberg has also requested proof that water companies are following the 2008 Climate Change Act, which legally requires them “to take action to adapt to the future impact of climate breakdown”.

The Green Party is asking the Council “to declare full recognition of the water emergency, the impact that this is already having on communities, businesses and the environment in Cambridge, and the potentially disastrous consequences it is leading to.”

It is also advocating for the council to write to Angela Rayner, Deputy Prime Minister, to demand that “planning matters in Cambridge and South Cambridgeshire remain under the control of the local authorities”.

The Greens are also demanding that a government statement on its plans for development in Cambridge be replaced with one which prioritises water issues more prominently in local planning applications.

The Party has also suggested other methods to the council to reduce water usage within the county such as universal metering, hosepipe bans, and communication with residents.

The Cambridge Greens have repeatedly opposed development plans for the region, which seek to make the city “Europe’s silicon valley,” on the basis of water scarcity. In March, Cambridge Labour and Liberal Democrats joined the Greens in attacking the initiative, which was spearheaded by former Levelling Up Secretary Michael Gove.

A spokesperson for the Cambridge Labour Party said: “The Green Party motion fails to acknowledge what has been done to date, asks the council to do things far outside our area of responsibility, and acts as if the incoming Labour government was already failing to take this issue seriously and would disregard the needs of local authorities.”

“Labour has been working on the water issue for a long time. For example, Labour Councillors responded to a public question in the summer of 2019, when the chalk streams upstream of the River Cam dried up,” they added.