Water bosses to be grilled amid calls to place firm in 'special measures' as UK 'becomes sewage capital of Europe'

Water bosses will be grilled by civic chiefs in Gloucestershire as the UK becomes the “sewage capital of Europe”. Gloucestershire County Council believes it is an insult to residents that water companies are planning to hike bills by up to 90 per cent by 2030.

They say they are doing this while having paid out billions of pounds to shareholders since 2010. The council agreed to invite the chair of Thames Water to their environment scrutiny committee to explain the reasons for the increase in bills.

Council leader Mark Hawthorne (C, Quedgeley) will also write to the incoming Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs calling for the Government to put Thames Water into special measures.

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Councillor Paul Hodgkinson (LD, Bourton-on-the-Water and Northleach), who proposed the motion at the council meeting on Wednesday, June 26, said the issue was close to his heart and a scandal affecting the whole county. He highlighted the 2,000 hours of raw sewage being pumped into the River Coln at Andoversford last year.

“He was sad to say he believes this country has become the sewage capital of Europe. What an awful thing to say and it’s absolutely right. Everyone knows in recent years we’ve seen such an increase in sewage being dumped into our rivers, lakes and the sea.

“Water bosses have been paid bonuses while the rest of us have had to pay inflation-busting water bills in the future.”

Councillor Chloe Turner (G, Minchinhampton), who supported the motion, said the Thames River Basin district along with Anglian is the worst in the whole country. She said recent research by the University of Greenwich suggests £85 billion has been taken out of the UK across the ten major water firms over the 30 years since privatisation.

“Why on earth should the 15 million customers of Thames Water take the brunt of that by having to pay for the upgrades that are needed," she said.

“It’s so important we tackle this. For the Green Party that should be done through nationalisation of these firms. In the meantime enhanced scrutiny is definitely the way to go.”

Councillor Graham Morgan (L, Cinderford) said he agreed and supported the motion. He suggested all of the water companies should be called in.

“I don’t think we should be just stopping at Thames. We should be getting the rest of them before the scrutiny committee as well because they’ve all got a case to answer,” he said.

Cllr Hawthorne (C, Quedgeley) said his group would be supporting the motion and congratulated Cllr Hodgkinson on his speech. But he pointed out there was “a bit of Lib Dem manifesto bingo” in it.

“It is a serious issue that is affecting our residents,” he said. “We do need to stand up regardless of political colour and say this is something that needs to be tackled by whatever colour of national colour we get next.

“There’s a real contrast in some of the investment and service levels we are seeing. Say for instance, Severn Trent which has announced a £12.3 billion investment. £4.5million happening in the Stroud Valley.

“Compared to Thames Water where all that increase in their bill is probably going to end up at the other end of their territory.” He said residents in the Thames Valley are the “forgotten element” of that business’ portfolio.

“They are chronically seeing underinvestment year on year," he added.

The council voted unanimously to approve the motion.

Thames Water say their shareholders have not taken an external dividend for six years to prioritise investment in improving service for customers and to protect the environment.

Under the current five-year business plan, which runs until 2025, they say they will invest £2bn more than they will receive in customer bills, with no external dividends paid or planned to be paid to shareholders.

They also say their business plan for 2025-2030 assumes no external dividends will be paid to shareholders during that time either. The only dividend payments Thames Water has made since 2017 are internal payments to our parent company, to facilitate debt and pension obligations, they said. This money does not go to shareholders.

A Thames Water spokesperson: “We are taking care of water for 16 million customers across the region, every single day. The health of our rivers is affected by many factors, including farming, industry, wildlife, run off from roads, and discharges from sewage systems.

"Everyone has a critical role to play. While all storm discharges are unacceptable, the sewage system was historically designed to work in this way, to prevent sewage backing up into people’s homes.

“As our infrastructure ages, and our population grows, more investment will be required. Thames Water has a clear and achievable plan to upgrade 250 of our facilities across the region to ensure we play our part.”