Clear signs of another drubbing coming for the UK water companies, with an item on today’s BBC News website headlined Serious water pollution incidents up 60% in England. The piece, by BBC correspondent Esme Stallard, shows the Environment Agency, Public Accounts Committee, Secretary of State for the Environment, NGOs and UK media all aligned in criticising water industry performance, even before the results of a review by the Water Commission are published next Monday.
The item identifies three companies as responsible for the vast majority of serious incidents, with Thames Water unsurprisingly the worst offender. Remarks from the leading figures quoted and from the public comments on the article confirm there is very little sympathy for the industry, however, which should expect significant changes in regulation and oversight.
EBNet and its members aim to do what they can to prevent and where necessary remedy pollution: we are proud of our goal to provide effective, efficient and affordable water and wastewater treatment, as outlined in a short clip on the Network’s original aims.
But nothing will happen without proper enforcement and major investment: and some days, everything we can do feels like less than a drop in the ocean.
