Raw sewage entered England’s seas and rivers for a shocking 1.75 million hours last year, according to figures from the Environment Agency. That’s a whopping 825 sewage spills per day.
In our region in 2022, Thames Water reported more than 8,000 sewage spills lasting the equivalent of over 3,000 days.
The discharges of sewage are just one of the signs – though the most damaging to our health and environment – of the massive under-investment in infrastructure by our water companies.
Water is leaking from Thames Water’s pipes at its highest rate for five years and the company will fail to meet its target to reduce leaks this year.
The Lib Dem Group were delighted to back a timely motion from Labour Councillor Will Cross calling on Thames Water to invest in fixing its infrastructure.
The Council resolved to invite Thames Water representatives to a meeting of the Strategic Environment, Planning and Transport Committee to discuss the company’s investment plans for Reading.
The invitation encourages Thames Water to work positively and proactively with the Council to ensure that much-needed infrastructure upgrades are carried out as effectively as possible.
The debate on the motion heard some horror stories such as the Reading resident whose garden filled with sewage from Thames Water’s pipes.
Or the Whitley Whiff – once banished – that has now returned when sewage flows into the Kennet. We are a town built on three rivers, and it’s a scandal that those rivers are now too polluted for swimming.
The day of the Council debate Thames Water’s chief executive resigned – from her approximately £1.5 million a year job. The next day news broke that the company is teetering on the brink of collapse. Money is leaking from the company as fast as water, as it has to service debts of £14 billion.
This is doubly bad news for Reading – not only because of the state of our water supply and sewerage system but also because Thames Water is a major employer in our town with its headquarters on Vastern Road.
The system needs fixing. Thames Water – and all the country’s privatised water companies – are failing us and failing the environment. What to do? The Liberal Democrats have put forward a Parliamentary Bill to reform water companies amid the crisis in the industry.
The new bill, tabled by the party’s Environment spokesperson Tim Farron, would transform the disgraced firms into “Public Benefit Corporations”. Such corporations are not legally bound to maximise shareholder value, but have a legal obligation to pursue social benefit.
Under the Lib Dem plans, water firms would no longer prioritise profit over the environment. The companies’ boards would be reformed, to include environment experts, and become far more open and transparent to the public.
“The potential collapse of Thames Water must be a wake-up call for the government. Ministers have sat on their hands whilst the water industry falls apart and destroys our environment,” Tim Farron MP said.
“There is no time to waste in ripping up this scandal-ridden industry. Thames Water is treating the country like fools, by forking out insulting payouts to overseas investors and senior executives, all whilst pipes leak and rivers are becoming polluted with sewage.”
“Water firms must stop putting profit before the environment,” the Lib Dem environment spokesman concluded. “These firms need reforming from top to bottom. This law would be an important first step to finally turning around this sinking ship.”
Cllr Anne Thompson is a Liberal Democrat and ward member for Tilehurst
