Water company bosses could face jail time in new government crackdown

4 September 2024, 23:41

The bosses of water companies could face two years in prison and be banned from taking bonuses as Labour launches a crackdown on England's chemical and manure-infested waters.

The Water (Special Measures) Bill, is designed to hand new powers to regulators Ofwat and the Environment Agency as they look to punish water companies for failing both the environment and customers.

The government has slammed the current enforcement system, which has seen only three individuals criminally prosecuted by the Environment Agency without appeal since privatisation.

Under this new bill, harsher punishments will be introduced, including jail sentences of up to two years for water company bosses who fail to cooperate or obstruct Environment Agency and Drinking Water Inspectorate investigations.

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Regulators will also be empowered to ban bonus payments to water bosses if they fail to meet high standards to protect the environment, their consumers and their company's finances.

Years of low investment and poor care have seen England’s waterways become infested with sewage, chemicals and manure.

It has reached a point where no river in England is considered to be in good overall health, and beauty spots including Windermere in the Lake District have been polluted.

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."

Under this proposed law, regulators will be granted powers to issue large and automatic fines without having to launch lengthy investigations.

Alan Lovell, chair of the Environment Agency, said the regulator welcomed the Government's ambition to drive through "much-needed" reform.

"The Bill will give us, as regulator, more power to protect our precious water quality and resources, hold water companies to account and ensure the polluter pays," he said.

David Black, chief executive of Ofwat, said: "This Bill strengthens our powers and will help us drive transformative change in the water industry so that it delivers better outcomes for customers and the environment."

Charles Watson, chair of River Action, added: "It is obviously a relief to finally see the true horrors of years of incessant pollution and the accompanying abject failure of our regulators to do anything about it being candidly acknowledged by our government of the day."

But he warned a "few one-off actions" are not alone going to fix the underlying causes of water pollution.

"It is imperative that this commitment to supplement today's small steps with much more fundamental action is now brought forward with real vigour and urgency," he continued.

The Conservatives, meanwhile, have accused Labour of "attempting to pass off measures implemented under the Conservatives" as their own.

Shadow environment minister Robbie Moore said: "It was the Conservatives that introduced 100% monitoring for storm overflows and set out a plan to transform our infrastructure to ensure safer, cleaner waters."