In England and Wales, anger about the state of our rivers and beaches is vast. Open-water swimmers, fishers and canoeists describe navigating through filthy liquid covered in brown scum. Social media posts show disturbing pictures of bankside tree roots and sewer outfalls festooned with the tatty remains of toilet paper and tampons. Blankets of silt and algae mask the previously pristine spawning grounds of salmon. Many people report that their local streams are cloudy, stinking and virtually bereft of fish and aquatic plants, whereas they used to be sparkling waters full of life. Clearly, all is not well in the aquatic environment.
That’s why, for the first time in English law, I have begun legal action with the support of Leigh Day against six of the largest water companies, on behalf of more than 20 million householders. If we win, the compensation could be more than £800m, which would result in about £40 or £50 being paid back per household. Our case is this: we hope to prove that the water companies have been underreporting the number of pollution incidents and overcharging customers as a result. To top it off, rather than reinvesting their substantial revenues, these companies have paid out handsome dividends to shareholders and attractive bonuses to senior staff. During the financial year 2021-22, the main water companies in the UK paid out almost £966m in dividends.
The public sees the damage being done to our rivers and waterways while water companies deflect responsibility. Groups such as Windrush Against Sewage Pollution, the Rivers Trust and Greenpeace’s journalism team, Unearthed, as well as some citizen scientists, have produced surveys and reports highlighting extensive sewage discharge, and not just in exceptionally wet weather. The data and evidence these groups have collected, which my claims have sought to analyse further, suggest that the number of discharges actually occurring far outstrip those self-reported to the Environment Agency and Ofwat.
People are becoming less tolerant and patient with the harm caused to waterways. A recent Lib Dem survey showed that 61% of British beachgoers were less likely to visit the seaside this summer as a result of untreated sewage being discharged into the sea. Just to underline why they might be wary: 57 competitors in the World Triathlon Championship Series were struck down with severe diarrhoea and vomiting after swimming off the coast of Sunderland last week. Is it too simplistic to conclude that there is a relationship with Northumbrian Water’s sewage outfalls a little further along the coast?
How do the water companies get away with it? The regulators have sought to create a system by which companies self-report against specific targets to incentivise better environmental performance. The self-reporting regime relies on trust and transparency between the regulators and the water companies. But the growing evidence suggests that trust and transparency is broken. A lack of good data is not always the problem – there are a variety of ways water companies can, and should, monitor their environmental performance. But accessing that data has at times proven to be incredibly difficult. Despite these difficulties, the evidence available indicates that what water companies report and what actually occurs is very different.
The English water and sewerage companies may be commercial enterprises, but they are under strict duties to ensure that the sewage systems they own and operate are fit for purpose. When pollution incidents do occur, water companies are under a legal duty to report them properly so they are adequately reflected in households’ bills. We believe sufficient data exists to prove this isn’t happening: detailed analysis of the massive volume of monitoring and meteorological data, in combination with sewage treatment plants flow data (which records raw sewage in and treated sewage out of treatment plants), should be sufficient to make our case.
The incoming chair of the Environment Agency recently mentioned a need to reset the water industry. I couldn’t agree more. It’s time for a real change.
At the end of this all, I hope that my claims will ensure that household consumers are treated fairly and compensated for past wrongs, as well as prevent any further negative costs to society in the loss of the amenity value of rivers and seas. The overwhelming support from the public, including the assistance from those who offered to give evidence, shows this is a fight that huge swathes of the country believe in. Now it’s time to make the water companies clean up their act.
Carolyn Roberts is a water and environment consultant and emeritus professor at Gresham College, London
