Landmark legislation to crack down on bosses for polluting water

Major legislation to crack down on water company bosses polluting Britain’s rivers, lakes, and seas has been announced today, marking the most significant increase in enforcement powers in over a decade.

The Water (Special Measures) Bill has been introduced to Parliament, providing regulators with new powers to take tougher and faster action against water companies that damage the environment and fail their customers.

The Bill aims to deliver on Labour’s manifesto pledges to clean up the water sector, including significantly increasing the Environment Agency’s ability to bring forward criminal charges against law-breaking water executives.

It introduces new, tougher penalties, including imprisonment, for water executives when companies fail to cooperate or obstruct investigations.

Under the new legislation, water company executives will be banned from receiving bonuses if they fail to meet high standards for environmental protection, customer care, and financial management.

Additional Measures in the Bill Include:

• Criminal Charges Against Lawbreakers: The Bill will significantly enhance the Environment Agency’s ability to prosecute water executives who break the law, including introducing imprisonment for executives who fail to cooperate with investigations.
• Ban on Executive Bonuses: The Bill will empower Ofwat to ban performance-related pay and bonuses for water company executives unless they meet high standards of environmental and customer care.
• Severe and Automatic Fines: The Bill will introduce automatic fines for a range of offences, enabling regulators to issue penalties quickly without lengthy investigations.
• Independent Monitoring: Water companies will be required to publish real-time data on emergency overflows, creating unprecedented transparency and accountability.

Richard Walker, Executive Chairman of Deeside based Iceland Foods and former Chair of Trustees of Surfers Against Sewage, welcomed the new legislation, stating:

“Finally, we have a government prepared to tackle the criminal neglect and abuse of Britain’s waters. This new legislation is long overdue and will strengthen enforcement and hold water companies and their bosses to account.

“There remain systemic issues that need to be tackled to end pollution of our waters in the long-term – but this swift action gives me confidence that things can and will start to change.

The introduction of the Bill is part of the Government’s three-stage approach to cleaning up waterways:

1. Reset: Immediate ringfencing of funds for infrastructure upgrades.
2. Special Measures: Strengthening regulatory powers through new legislation.
3. Further Legislation: Future laws to fundamentally transform the water sector and address systemic issues.

Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, Steve Reed, said:

“The public are furious that in 21st century Britain, record levels of sewage are being pumped into our rivers, lakes and seas. After years of neglect, our waterways are now in an unacceptable state.

“That is why today I am announcing immediate action to end the disgraceful behaviour of water companies and their bosses.

“Under this Government, water executives will no longer line their own pockets whilst pumping out this filth. If they refuse to comply, they could end up in the dock and face prison time.

“This Bill is a major step forward in our wider reform to fix the broken water system. We will outline further legislation to fundamentally transform how the water industry is run and speed up the delivery of upgrades to our sewage infrastructure to clean up our waterways for good.”

Mike Keil, Chief Executive, Consumer Council for Water said:

“Our research shows consumer trust in the water sector has been badly fractured by concerns over the environment, which is why we welcome the measures laid out by the UK Government to ensure there are more serious consequences for water companies if they harm our rivers and seas.”

“We’re also looking forward to working with ministers to give people and communities a more powerful platform to hold water companies to account when they fail to deliver on their promises. These changes will complement the work we’re already doing to help transform the culture of companies, so they are focused on providing the best possible service for their customers.”