Water companies apologise for sewage spills and promise to invest £10bn to reduce them

Industry body says it will complete the biggest modernisation of sewers since the Victorian era

The water industry body has apologised for the first time for dumping sewage into rivers and waterways for decades, and promised the biggest modernisation of sewers since the Victorian era.

The £10bn plan includes installing water storage tanks equivalent to thousands of new Olympic swimming pools, and ripping out concrete to replace it with ponds.

Sewage spilled into rivers and seas by water companies hundreds of thousands of times a year has been blamed on decades of underinvestment in critical infrastructure.

'Unprecedented plan'

“The message from the water and sewage industry today is clear: we are sorry. More should have been done to address the issue of spillages sooner and the public is right to be upset about the current quality of our rivers and beaches,” said Ruth Kelly, the chair of industry body Water UK.

“We have listened and have an unprecedented plan to start to put it right.”

Yorkshire Water chief executive Nicola Shaw sent out a letter of apology to customers, saying the country "should have a system that befits the 21st Century".

The plan is expected to reduce spills by just over 10 per cent compared to last year, when there were around 300,000 sewage spills, according to Environment Agency data.

The new investment plan, which will ultimately be paid through customer bills after upfront funding from water company investors, must be signed off by Ofwat.

It is a fraction of the £56bn that the Government has said it will cost to effectively end the routine release of sewage into waterways, which is allowed to happen during exceptional circumstances to stop it backing up into homes.

Calls for renationalisation

The water industry has faced calls for renationalisation in the wake of the sewage crisis, which has contributed to just 14 per cent of England’s rivers being classified as ecologically healthy.

Public anger has focused on the billions of pounds paid out in dividends and bonuses to water industry shareholders and bosses since privatisation 30 years ago.

Three water company bosses have this year said they will decline their annual bonuses, usually around £500,000, this year.

Labour has proposed to create a new regulator for the industry that would combine the roles of the pollution oversight of the Environment Agency, with the economic regulation of Ofwat.

Water UK said the details of the plans would be developed later this summer, but that it would prioritise the worst affected rivers and most frequently spilling sewage overflows.

The industry also promised to release real-time data on sewage spills to inform swimmers, anglers and other recreational river users. Water companies will also support up to 100 communities to gain bathing status which means they are monitored for safety during summer months.

Government pressure

The plan was welcomed by the Government, which has been under significant political pressure over the sewage crisis, with ministers facing calls to resign.

“This apology by the water industry is not before time and I welcome it,” said Water Minister Rebecca Pow. “I am pleased that they are now taking action to deliver on this - but there is still a great deal more to do."

A spokesperson for Ofwat said: "We welcome the apology from water companies and this now needs to be turned into action.

"We have been pushing water companies to do more, faster, for their customers and for our waterways and beaches. We look forward to seeing the plans and how companies will step up performance.

Stuart Singleton-White, Head of Campaigns at the Angling Trust, said:

“This must be only the beginning. The problems our rivers face will not be solved by sorting out overflow spills, chucking in some money for swimming, and putting nature-based solutions on the end of pipes.”

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