Only political change will end this sewage scandal

Sewage Companies must be forced to invest in clean-up, not giveaway top exec bonuses and shareholder dividends.

Figures released by the Environment Agency today show that South West Water nearly doubled raw sewage discharges in the last year – from 290,271 hours in 2022 to 530,737 hrs last year.

Liberal Democrats are committed to taking tough action against sewage dumping in local rivers/beaches, replacing Ofwat with a more effective regulator, installing an independent community environmental champion on every Board, converting companies to community benefit societies and banning exec bonuses.

Conservative MPs have sought to excuse water companies and believe it’s acceptable for the discharges to continue. All Conservative MPs representing Cornwall’s constituencies have consistently voted against measures which would have helped to tackle the crisis.

Since the Conservatives created these privatised water companies over £74 billion has been paid out to top execs and shareholders. If even half of this were instead invested in treatment and attenuation infrastructure these problems would barely exist. New housing developments are required to build in infrastructure to ensure each estate can manage up to a 1 in 100 year rainfall event on site – in their SuDS design (Surface Water/Sustainable Urban Drainage System). The least SWW and other companies can do is to at least match this with the massive monopoly income receive each year.

Conservative MPs excuse these companies and vote for sewage spills to continue. SWW promised us a “Clean Sweep”. What we need is a “clean sweep” to rid us of Conservative MPs so that we can get on with sorting this out and the many other problems they’ve created or presided over.