Unlimited fines for water companies dumping sewageon April 1, 2023 at 6:32 am

Water companies could face unlimited fines for dumping sewage, under government plans expected to be announced in the coming days.

Ministers want to lift a cap of £250,000 for penalties for firms that release sewage into rivers and the sea.

Releases of untreated waste are legal in some cases, but they also pose risks to human health and to ecosystems.

Official figures have shown there were an average of 825 sewage spills per day into England’s waterways last year.

This represented a 19% decrease from 2021 – but the Environment Agency (EA) put the drop largely down to drier weather, rather than the actions of water companies.

Companies are allowed to discharge untreated sewage into rivers in exceptional circumstances – for example, during heavy rainfall.

But they can be acting illegally if they pump sewage into water when the conditions are dry, or if they are not treating enough of the waste before releasing it.

Water UK, which represents the water industry, said this was the fourth year that spill figures had come down, and that firms were “committed to building on this positive news”.

But the government said the volume of spillages recorded in the latest data was unacceptable.

In the coming days, ministers are expected to announce their plans to “make polluters pay” – addressing all sources of pollution, including from chemicals used in farming and plastics.

Environment Secretary Therese Coffey is expected to say that money will be levied from water company profits, and invested into improving water quality and natural habitats.

Currently, such money goes to the Treasury – but the plans will see money instead funnelled to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra).

The proposed “water restoration fund” will be used to help restore wetlands, create new habitats in important nature sites and better manage rivers, the government is expected to say.

Charles Watson, chairman and founder of River Action, said removing the cap on fines may mean the government “has finally woken up to the huge public outrage to what’s happened to our rivers”.

“At the moment the penalty regimes for water companies does not provide a big enough deterrent and by uncapping fines there is now potential of real teeth,” he said.

Speaking to BBC Radio 4’s Today programme, he questioned how the water restoration fund would be enforced. Environmental protection through the EA had suffered cutbacks, limiting its ability to “monitor and bring to book polluters”, he said.

Ms Coffey also wants the Environment Agency to be able to impose sanctions without going through the courts – although it is expected that serious cases will still go through criminal proceedings.

Responding to Friday’s figures on sewage spills, Labour said the government had allowed waterways to be treated as “open sewers”.

Leader Sir Keir Starmer told The Guardian his party would commit to “real action” on the issue if it won power.

The Liberal Democrats called on Ms Coffey to resign over the figures – while the Green Party said water companies should face greater accountability.

Under the government announcements, Ms Coffey is set to stress that she understands the need to protect the nation’s rivers, lakes, streams and coastlines.

She is expected to say: “I want to make sure that regulators have the powers and tools to take tough action against companies that are breaking the rules, and to do so more quickly.”