Britain’s water compa
ny bosses will face up to two years in prison and be banned from taking bon
uses for covering up sewage spills under new legislation in forc
e from Friday.
The new measure
delivers on the government’s promise to bring tougher criminal charges agains
t lawbreakers in the water industry, UK’s Department for Environment, Food & Rur
al Affairs said in a statement. It’s essential “because some water companies
have obstructed investigations, failing to hand over vital evidence related to
illegal sewage discharges,” it said.
The UK’s water sector has been in the spotlight after numerous scandals
over systematic sewage spills and chronic pipe leaks, following decades of poor government oversight. Water companies in England
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reported 2,487 pollution incidents last year, the highest in a decade, according
to Surfers Against Sewage, a campaigning charity.
Environment Secretary Steve Reed announced a series of initial steps in July
— together with a promise of the biggest overhaul in the industry since privatization in 1989. Only three water company officials have
been criminally prosecuted since privatization and the maximum punishment
was a fine – though no fines were issued, Defra said in the statement. The gov
ernment will continue to reform the water sector, it said.
Photograph: Sewage is discharged into Earlswood brook from the nearby treatment works, run by Thames Water on April 13, 2
023 in South Earlswood, England. (Photo by Dan Kitwood/Getty Images)