As Labour plans to crack down on water companies, see which firms empty the most sewage into England’s rivers, lakes and seas. Water firm bosses could face jail-time under sweeping new laws proposed by the Government to reduce the amount of pollution of England’s waterways. The Water (Special Measures) Bill, introduced to Parliament on Wednesday, will hand new powers to Ofwat and the Environment Agency to take action on companies damaging the environment and failing customers.
Under the Bill, harsher penalties for law-breaking will be introduced, including jail sentences of up to two years for executives who fail to cooperate or obstruct Environment Agency and Drinking Water Inspectorate investigations. Years of under-investment by the privately-run firms combined with ageing water infrastructure, a growing population and more extreme weather caused by climate change have seen the quality of England’s rivers, lakes and oceans plummet in recent years. READ MORE: Fury at Ouseburn pollution levels as councillors take aim at Northumbrian Water over sewage spills Keep up to date with all the latest breaking news and top stories from the North East with our free newsletter Sewage spills have contributed to a situation in which no single river in England is considered to be in good overall health, and beauty spots including Windermere in the Lake District have been polluted.
Annual data from the Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs shows how often each water company has used storm overflow to empty excess rain water along with sewage into the country’s waterways, and for how long those overflows were open. Water companies in England spilled from storm overflows into the country’s waterways 464,056 times in 2023. That’s the equivalent of 1,271 times a day.
Those spills lasted for a combined total of more than 3.6 million hours. That’s the same as a single overflow pipe running for 412 years non-stop.
The number of times storm overflows empty into rivers is on the rise, as is the duration of the discharges. The 3.6 million hours of storm overflows emptying into rivers last year is the highest on record.
It’s up from 1.8 million hours in 2022, 2.7 million hours in 2021, and 3.
1 million hours in 2020. Environment Secretary Steve Reed said: “The public are furious that in 21st century Britain, record levels of sewage are being pumped into our rivers, lakes and seas. Under this Government, water executives will no longer line their own pockets whilst pumping out this filth.
If they refuse to comply, they could end up in the dock and face prison time.” A Water UK spokesman said: “We agree with the Government that the water system is broken. Fixing it requires the Government to deliver the two things which it has promised: fundamental regulatory reform and speeding up investment.
“Ofwat needs to back our £105 billion investment plan in full to secure our water supplies, enable economic growth and end sewage spilling into our rivers and seas.” Mike Keil, chief executive of the Consumer Council for Water (CCW), said: “Our research shows consumer trust in the water sector has been badly fractured by concerns about the environment, which is why we welcome the measures laid out by the UK Government to ensure there are more serious consequences for water companies if they harm our rivers, lakes and seas. “These changes will complement the work we’re already doing to help transform the culture of water companies, so they are focused on providing the best possible service for their customers.
” Gary Garter, GMB union National Officer, said: "This is the first step to cleaning up the UK's rancid waterways - as well as the whole sector. GMB members want to see rivers and waterways restored to good health. "For too long water companies have used public money to pay big bonuses and huge dividends, but failed to deliver the investment we desperately need.
Tougher regulation is welcome but the Government must fundamentally overhaul the way water companies are run. "They must be accountable not only to Ministers and regulators but unions, consumers and environmental groups too. The unaccountability of water companies must end.
" A spokesperson for Northumbrian Water said: “We share our customers passion to have a healthy, thriving water environment across our region – and our teams work hard every day to help to protect our rivers and seas. “We have the lowest amounts and durations of storm overflow spills in the country. As well as this, we have the best environmental record of any water company in England, with no serious pollution incidents throughout the whole of 2023, or any since 2021.
“However, we know that we need to improve for our customers – which is why over the past two decades we have made huge investments to improve bathing waters across the North East. “The result of this programme of investment means 32 of our 34 bathing waters in the North East are now rated as ‘Excellent’ or ‘Good’ in the latest Defra classifications. “Between 2020 and 2025 we will have invested over £80m on upgrading our wastewater network and we have ambitious plans to invest a further £1.
7 billion from 2025 to 2030 to stop storm overflow spills and help improve our local environment. “We have also recently launched a £20 million project called ‘Smart Sewers’ which will aim to reduce our spills by 80% in the Tyneside area where it is being trialled. The innovative project is a UK first for the water industry and work has already started to ensure this project can be completed as quickly as possible.
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