Unions, celebrities and river activists are calling on the new UK government to halt attempts by the water industry to hike bills for customers in England and Wales by 91%, and to immediately launch a major review of water ownership.
Author Michael Rosen and comedians Nish Kumar and Stephen Fry have joined campaigners from Greenpeace, Surfers Against Sewage, River Action, Rivers Trust and activists across the country in signing a letter to Keir Starmer calling on him to intervene, just days before regulator Ofwat announces whether it will approve huge increases to customers’ bills in England and Wales.
Some of the most polluting and financially struggling water companies, including Thames Water and Southern Water, are aiming for the biggest bill hikes. Thames Water wants to see customers’ bills rise by 59% after adjusting for inflation. Southern aims to increase bills by 91% by 2030, to £915 a year.
The letter, organised by campaign group We Own It, was also signed by the GMB and Unite unions. It read: “Saturday marked 35 years since the Water Act 1989 established our current model of water and sewerage management, including privatisation and top-down regulation.
“Bills have risen twice as fast as inflation. No new drinking water reservoirs have been delivered. A quarter of our supply is leaking from our pipes. Debts are unpaid; plans ‘uninvestable’. And last year, operators discharged sewage into our rivers and seas for more than 3 million hours.
“If the current failed model continues, Labour could be fighting the next election with bills costing more than £915 a year and sewage would be a greater threat to our health than ever before.”
The letter calls on the prime minister to pause the current pricing process and immediately launch a thorough public review of ownership and regulations, including consultation with water activists, union representatives and customers.
Water companies are pledging their biggest ever investment of £100bn to repair ageing infrastructure, reduce sewage discharges and build new reservoirs, 35 years after the sector was privatised.
They are acting after a public outcry over sewage pollution in rivers and seas, and a decline in the state of England’s rivers to a point where no river is considered to be in good health. As well as concerns about the health of rivers, there are growing fears about the threat to public health from the way wastewater is treated in England. The Chief Medical Officer for England, Prof Chris Whitty, has said that public health must be at the heart of any future investment in a new wastewater system to protect people from waterborne diseases through contact with rivers and coastal waters polluted by treated and untreated sewage.
The regulator Ofwat, itself under pressure for allowing companies to pay out £78 billion in dividends over the past three decades while racking up £60 billion in debt, will announce on Thursday whether it will approve the business plans of the biggest water and sewerage companies.
after newsletter promotion
Ofwat’s decision, which was delayed until July 11 because of the general election, comes amid a growing crisis in the water sector. Thames Water, the largest privatised water monopoly, is struggling to stay afloat with debts of almost £15bn, and investors are threatening to pull the plug on the company. Ofwat has raised concerns about the financial resilience of other privatised companies, including Southern Water, SES Water and South East Water, as the biggest concern. The financial resilience of Yorkshire Water and Portsmouth Water is also a concern for the regulator.
“No other country in the world has a water and sewerage network like we do: 90% is publicly owned and provided,” the letter to Starmer reads.
“Regulation is flawed, hijacked and underfunded: a constant threat to the current model. Accountability must be overhauled, including putting community representatives on company boards and using ‘sunshine regulation’ to deliver greater transparency.”