Anti-sewage campaigners have warned of “extreme anger” if the Labour government does not radically reform the water regulator.
Sources at the Environment Agency (EA) and in the Labour party have told the Guardian that while Labour had spent time considering reforms of the EA and Ofwat in order to fix the sewage crisis, some stricter options that had been proposed were now off the table.
Campaigners say that the watchdog, Ofwat, has been too lax on the water companies and prioritised low bills over spending on improving sewer systems.
Recall that last year there was a 105% rise in raw sewage spills into England’s rivers and seas – it was discharged for more than 3.6m hours and this made 2023 the worst year for storm water pollution.
Options sources say have been discussed with campaigners, the EA and other stakeholders included merging Ofwat and the EA, giving Ofwat more powers and a policy prioritising environmental benefits over costs to consumers, and giving the regulators more independence from government.
At the moment, for example, the EA shares a press office with Defra and its communications are directed by ministers, which makes it difficult to take long-term actions that the government could think too politically damaging, or to hold the government to account.
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The EA faced steep funding cuts under Conservative government austerity which has made it difficult for the regulator to enforce environmental laws. Proposals to increase its funding will not be taken forward, the Guardian has been told.
Now policies that campaigners say are less ambitious have emerged and include working with the EA to stop water company self-monitoring for sewage spills – an initiative that was already happening under the Conservative government – and writing to Ofwat to ask them to make sure funding for vital infrastructure investment is ringfenced and can only be spent on upgrades benefiting customers and the environment.
The environment secretary, Steve Reed, has asked Ofwat to ensure that when money for investment is not spent, companies refund customers, with money never allowed to be diverted for bonuses, dividends or salary increases.
Charles Watson, the founder of River Action, said the government had promised regulatory reform of the water companies, adding: “Fixing the nation’s failed environmental regulatory system was rightly a central part of Labour’s environmental campaigning promises during the general election.
“A root cause of the extensive pollution of our waterways is the combination of Ofwat’s allowing of the water companies to pay out too much to shareholders at the expense of infrastructure investment and the Environment Agency’s failure to enforce existing regulations – thus enabling polluters to be able to act freely with impunity.
“[Failing to address these problems] will be met with extreme disappointment and anger by the huge numbers of the public who voted on 4 July to clean up our waterways.”
Story was adapted from the Guardian.
