Environmental laws will be strengthened to impose immediate fines and prison sentences for executives who fail to cooperate with regulatory authorities.
Water company executives could face up to two years in prison under new measures aimed at cracking down on pollution in rivers and seas.
On Thursday, the Government will introduce a package of measures to combat the frequent dumping of sewage by water companies. Under the new powers in the Government’s Water Bill, executives could be held accountable and face imprisonment if their water company fails to cooperate with investigations by environmental and drinking water regulators.
The Bill also proposes blocking bonuses for water company executives if they fail to meet environmental or consumer standards, along with “severe and automatic” fines, similar to speeding tickets, for pollution incidents.
These measures come in response to public outrage over the ongoing discharge of sewage into waterways by water companies. Last year, sewage spills reached a record high with 477,000 incidents lasting over four million hours, a 58% increase from 2022.
Recently, it was revealed that a water company had released untreated sewage into Windermere, England’s largest lake, for eight consecutive days.
Environment Secretary Steve Reed stated: “The public is outraged that, in 21st-century Britain, record levels of sewage are being discharged into our rivers, lakes, and seas. Under this Government, water executives will no longer enrich themselves while polluting our waters. If they refuse to comply, they could end up facing prison time.”
However, campaigners have criticized the new plans as insufficient to address the pollution crisis.
Charles Watson, founder of River Action, commented: “If the secretary of state believes that the few measures announced today, such as cutting executives’ bonuses—despite how appealing they may sound—will fix the root causes of our polluted waterways, he needs to reconsider.”
Feargal Sharkey, a musician and environmental advocate, argued that the proposals do not go far enough to halt a planned mass protest in October demanding cleaner water. “I still believe this country needs to show up at Whitehall and send a clear message to the Government, regulators, and the industry that we’ve had enough, and we won’t tolerate this any longer,” he said. “The pollution must stop now.”
