Water companies apologise over river sewage but campaigners say it is meaningless without action

Ruth Kelly, the chair of Water UK, the organisation which represents the country's water companies, said sorry as part of an announcement for the biggest modernisation of sewers "since the Victorian era".

The organisation said the investment in sewage networks will cut overflows by up to 140,000 each year by 2030, compared to the level in 2020.

Environment Agency figures earlier this year showed there were a total of 301,091 sewage spills in 2022, an average of 824 a day.

The issue has has been a growing concern to members of the public, with campaigners in the county holding a series of protests to highlight the state of the River Severn over recent months.

Responding to the announcement Claire Kirby, of Shrewsbury campaign group Up Sewage Creek, said that the words would be meaningless unless action improved the state of the county's waterways.

County MP, Philip Dunne, who is the chair of Parliament's Environmental Audit Committee, also welcomed the announcement but said people were fed up of sewage being spilled into their rivers and seas.

Ms Kelly had said: "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.

"We have listened and have an unprecedented plan to start to put it right. This problem cannot be fixed overnight, but we are determined to do everything we can to transform our rivers and seas in the way we all want to see."

The organisation said "£10 billion – more than triple current levels" is ready to be invested, "enabling the biggest modernisation of sewers since the Victorian era, and the most ambitious programme on sewage spills in the world".

Under plans to be unveiled in full this summer, companies will be able to improve their sewer networks and treat overflow spills with less impact on rivers and seas, Water UK said.

An independent data hub to inform the public of overflows and the rolling out of new swimming areas is also planned.

Ms Kirby said the public were right to be frustrated after seeing water and sewage companies pay out more than a billion pounds in dividends in 2022.

She said: "Water UK is the mouthpiece of the water industry. Water UK say that the water companies are sorry about the sewage and that it’s all their fault. Water UK say they will invest £10bn in the infrastructure but that unfortunately our bills will have to go up. Meanwhile, the water companies continue to pay the CEOs obscene amounts of money and UK water industry shareholders received £1.3bn in dividends last year (22-23) up from £540 million the previous year.

"The newspapers were covered with picture of beaches covered in excrement last summer and the fuss hasn’t died down.

"The water companies know that to continue to blame the farmers for everything won’t wash with the public and this is why they have issued this worthless apology.

"Unless followed up with real action to stop sewage dumping know this apology doesn’t deserve the server space it has taken up. Unless something is done soon, our beautiful River Severn will die."

Mr Dunne, the Conservative MP for Ludlow, said: “The water and sewage sector is in listening mode and has provided a promising plan to tackle poor water quality and take vital steps to improve the country’s ageing sewerage infrastructure.

"The scale of investment now proposed is very welcome, albeit long overdue: it is an encouraging step in the right direction. I hope that Ofwat will approve this material increase in the proportion of the sector’s capital investment devoted to improving water quality, as the Committee has been advocating. The plan must look to prioritise the locations most susceptible to damaging overflows, as well as those where improvement can assist most in achieving nutrient neutrality in sensitive catchments.

"In our report, we called for two bathing water quality areas to be designated per water company per year over the next five year pricing period (2025-2029). The ambition outlined in today’s plan accepts this challenge – aiming to designate up to 100 locations – and I hope water and sewerage companies succeed in raising the water quality in those locations to bathing water standard as rapidly as possible.

"People are quite rightly sick and tired of the repeated reports of sewage flowing into our rivers and seas, and we must put a stop to it. Today’s initiatives, if delivered fully, could go a long way to addressing these understandable concerns and returning the country’s precious waterways to good health.”

Last month, Environment Secretary Therese Coffey said the Government would introduce legislation to put plans to reduce storm overflows on a "new legal footing".

The Government's Storm Overflows Discharge Reduction Plan, published in August 2022, aims to eliminate sewage dumping by 2050 while cutting discharges close to "high priority" areas by 75 per cent by 2035 and 100 per cent by 2045.

High priority areas include Sites of Special Scientific Interest, Special Areas of Conservation and other environmentally sensitive areas.

A spokesperson for Ofwat, the water regulator, 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.

"Through our regulatory process, we will ensure they deliver the best possible outcomes over the next five years and beyond.

"It is important that companies continue to engage clearly with the public on how this proposed investment will benefit communities and improve quality of life."

Alan Lovell, chairman of the Environment Agency, said: "It is right that the industry is honest, accountable and shows the tangible steps it is taking to drive the improvements that we all want to see."

Water minister Rebecca Pow said: "This apology by the water industry is not before time and I welcome it.

"The Government has put the strictest targets ever on water companies to reduce sewage pollution and demanded that water companies deliver their largest ever infrastructure investment - £56 billion. I am pleased that they are now taking action to deliver on this, but there is still a great deal more to do.