Steve Reed states there is no assurance that UK waters are uncontaminated. The Environment Secretary has revealed that every river in the country is polluted, accusing water companies of concealing the extent of sewage spills.
Steve Reed expressed his understanding of public concerns about the safety of swimming in seas, lakes, and rivers, acknowledging there’s no assurance that the water is uncontaminated.
In his initial interview with The Telegraph since taking office, Reed stated: “Every single river in England today is polluted… The public is rightly furious that they have to worry about letting their kids splash in the river, fearing contamination because it’s polluted.”
Reed plans to introduce a new sewage spill monitoring system, ensuring independent oversight of data to prevent water companies from falsifying information.
Currently, the Environment Agency is conducting an unprecedented criminal investigation into potential illegal activities by water and sewerage companies at numerous sewage treatment facilities.
According to the latest Environment Agency data, there were 464,056 sewage spills last year, totalling over 3.6 million hours—a record high since monitoring began.
While water companies are allowed to discharge sewage into rivers and seas during extreme conditions to prevent backups into homes, the frequent spills have sparked criticism over the industry’s failure to invest in infrastructure to handle changing weather and a growing population.
The Financial Penalties
Under the current system, water companies face fines for sewage spills, but Reed argued that the penalties are so minimal that companies merely factor them into their operating costs.
“Currently, the fines are so low that companies treat it as a cost of doing business,” he said. “It’s cheaper for them to pollute Windermere than to fix the sewage pipes that are contaminating the most iconic lake in our country—this must not continue.”
Reed emphasized that it’s cheaper for companies to pay fines than to invest in repairing their infrastructure, creating a perverse incentive not to address the issues.
To combat this, Reed’s new Water Bill will enforce “automatic and severe fines for illegal pollution incidents,” and he plans to introduce additional legislation aimed at “fundamentally transforming” the water industry.
This transformation includes establishing a “partnership” between the Government and the water sector to attract billions of pounds in private investment and encourage long-term infrastructure planning by water companies.
“I want kids today to splash about in the water just like I could.”
Reed fondly reminisces about his childhood holidays by the seaside, quickly becoming angered by the current state of the British coast.
“When I was younger, we’d go to the beach and I’d swim in the sea without worry,” he recalls. “We’d swim in lakes without a second thought because the water was clean.”
He contrasted this with the concerns of modern families.
“Today, parents worry about letting their kids in the water for fear of contamination. I want to return to a time when you didn’t have to think about it—you just knew the water was clean,” Reed told The Telegraph.
“I want today’s kids and grandkids to enjoy the water just like I did. There’s a significant sense of loss for parents and grandparents who feel their kids can’t have the same experiences because of the sewage in our waterways.”
Since coming to power, Labour has unveiled proposals to revamp planning rules to fulfil its pledge of building 1.5 million new homes. These plans include allowing developers to build on green belt land if necessary by adopting a “more strategic approach to green belt land designation and release to build more homes in the right places.”
However, Mr. Reed reassured rural communities, concerned about the countryside being overrun by developers, that they have “nothing to worry about.”
He clarified that the focus will not be on the green belt itself, but rather on the grey belt—land classified as green belt but lacking significant landscape value.
“We’re not going to build on the green belt; we’re targeting the grey belt, which is technically designated as green belt but isn’t truly green. This includes places like car parks and petrol stations—areas no one would consider green and pleasant,” Mr. Reed explained.
“Our approach will prioritize the grey belt and brownfield sites first. Additionally, any areas with established local plans will have those plans respected. If a statutory framework plan is in place, it will not be overridden.
“So, no one has anything to worry about,” he concluded.
