We were too slow to tackle sewage spills, UK water industry admits
Water suppliers took too long to recognise the problem of storm overflows and failed to predict the scale of the public backlash from sewage polluting Britain’s rivers, lakes and beachfronts, industry body Water UK has admitted.
Stuart Colville, director of policy for the group, which represents suppliers, told City PM that for “far too long,” water companies “weren’t focused” on the issue.
He revealed that storm overflows – where untreated sewage is discharged into the environment during rainy or stormy weather – were not previously perceived as a priority, with firms instead targeting improvements for beaches and sewage network upgrades.
The policy chief suggested that sewage spills were only responsible for a “a very small amount of the environmental damage” suffered by invertebrates and fish in rivers, but he recognised that public anger over the issue was “understandable”.
“People just moved faster than the water industry to recognise that it’s unacceptable to have sewage going into rivers in this way in the 21st century. They are horrible things, they are a legacy of Victorian infrastructure, and we’ve got to act on them. We’ve got to get rid of them, tackle them and sort them out,” he said.
Colville’s comments come as water companies have been put under increasing pressure to do more to tackle sewage spills.
Water companies released raw sewage into rivers and seas in England for more than 1.75m hours last year, according to Environment Agency data, with an average of 825 sewage spills into waterways per day.
This was down 19 per cent on the previous year, but the watchdog attributed the decline to drier weather, rather than actions taken by water companies.
The issue has gained further traction again this month following reports of sewage dumping in Lake Windermere.
Water suppliers publicly apologised for sewage spills last month, and launched an investment plan worth £10bn to combat storm overflows by the end of the decade.
While their conduct has prompted calls for tougher sanctions, such as bigger financial penalties and even jail time for top bosses, Colville said the issue of investment was just as important as enforcement.
“If a company has done something wrong, then of course the regulator should step in and the regulator should have the powers that it feels it needs to do that effectively,” he said.
“However, it’s also worth remembering that even when we get to that point, that is not going to transform our rivers in terms of good ecological status and environmental health. That is something that will only be transmitted through real investment and that really is something Water UK is focused on,” he added.
Water UK has previously admitted that households will contribute to their £10bn investment with a rise in their water bills, which prompted further anger after companies such as Thames Water unveiled six-month earnings of nearly £500m last December.
But Colville noted that three firms made losses last year and that the “picture painted of obscene profits that doesn’t quite hold up.”
He said: “This is really expensive, capital-intensive stuff, and we need to make sure we have a way of attracting both debt and equity in order to provide the capital we need.”