Callum’s Column: Time to clean up the water sector

We all know that our water system is broken, and radical transformation needs to happen quickly to clean up our rivers, lakes, and seas – as well as to hold water companies to account. This is why on Monday; our Labour Government took a bold step to reverse the tide on the unacceptable destruction of our waterways with the introduction of the Water (Special Measures) Bill.

Under the previous Conservative Government, Britain’s waterways suffered severe and repeated pollution caused by unchecked discharges of untreated sewage. This is simply unacceptable, and we are making sure water executives are held accountable and regulators have the power to stop their bonuses if they do not deliver for customers.

In Labour’s manifesto, environmental and public health were made a top priority, and we are keeping our promises to deliver for residents in the towns, villages and city that make up the Buckingham and Bletchley constituency. I’ve heard from so many local people how frustrated they are with companies such as Anglian Water and know we cannot look away while our water companies continue pump record levels of sewage into our beautiful waterways.

The scale of this problem is staggering. In 2023 alone, across my constituency, there were 869 sewage dumps, lasting 11,660 hours in total.

Breaking this down further, according to the River Trust’s Sewage Map:

· Untreated sewage spilled 103 times for a total of 1,991 hours at the Whaddon Water Recycling Centre.

· At Padbury Sewage Treatment Works (STW), there were 84 spills lasting 1,489 hours.

· The Akeley (Ex STW) Pumping Station recorded 104 spills lasting an astonishing 1,698 hours.

· Last but not least, at the Stewkley Wastewater Treatment Works, there were 162 spills totalling 3,166 hours.

These are just four examples which paint a damning picture of Conservative failure to protect our waterways, with all these spills contaminating local brooks as well. Our people and our wildlife deserve so much better.

So, what are we doing to address your concerns?

Labour’s Water Bill will significantly enhance the Environment Agency’s ability to bring forward criminal charges against executives who persistently flout environmental laws. Since privatisation, only three individuals have been criminally prosecuted by the Environment Agency, despite widespread evidence of lawbreaking.

Our new penalties include imprisonment of up to two years for water executives who obstruct investigations or fail to co-operate with the Environment Agency and the Drinking Water Inspectorate. Previously, such offences were punishable by mere fines.

The Bill also expands the cost recovery powers of regulators, ensuring that water companies bear the financial burden of enforcement actions stemming from their misconduct. This will end the practice of the taxpayer footing the bill for cleaning up environmental damage.

The legislation directly tackles the injustice at excessive payouts to water company bosses too. Despite overseeing catastrophic failures, water executives have awarded themselves over £41 million in bonuses, benefits, and incentives since 2020. Ofwat, the water regulator, will make sure executives will no longer be rewarded for failure, ensuring that incentives align with environmental and customer outcomes.

Finally, the Water Bill will increase overall accountability. We will establish independent monitoring of every sewage outlet in England. Anglian and other water companies will have to publish real-time data on emergency sewage overflows within one hour of a spill.

This unprecedented level of transparency will ensure the public and regulators can monitor discharges as they happen, holding companies accountable for pollution. Companies will also have to outline they are taking to reduce pollution incidents and ensure such failures do not occur again.

The Water (Special Measures) Bill marks a turning point for Britain’s environment and ends the era of complacency and unchecked pollution. As your Member of Parliament, I’m proud to back this ambitious legislation, which delivers on Labour’s promise to protect Britain’s natural resources, restore public trust, and hold water companies to the highest standards.