Why Britain’s polluting water companies are refusing to make amends

Good morning.

Last year, government ministers demanded water industry executives create a plan to tackle the mounting crisis of untreated sewage in Britain’s rivers and seas. To pacify growing public anger, water companies offered an apology, pledging to invest £10bn over the next decade and promising to reveal an “unprecedented plan” to “put it right”. The plans were supposed to be published in August, but four months later publication has been delayed yet again, even though the problem is getting worse.

The figures are nauseating. In 2022, 384,000 discharges of raw sewage were reported by water firms. Thames Water alone spilled at least 72bn litres of sewage into the River Thames over the last three years – about 29,000 Olympic swimming pools. Campaigners have urged the water industry, regulators and the government to deal with the growing crisis in the country’s waterways but have been met with little more than unfulfilled commitments.

For today’s newsletter, I spoke with Guardian environment reporter Helena Horton about why the water industry still has not dealt with Britain’s chronically leaky pipes. That’s right after the headlines.

Five big stories

In depth: ‘The rewards would not be reaped for a decade’

Though data about untreated sewage flowing into England’s rivers and seas has only been monitored for eight years, the problem has become a source of increasing concern for the public. According to a report by marine conservation charity Surfers Against Sewage, 1,924 people people said they experienced “sewage sickness” after swimming in UK waters between October 2022 and September 2023. Yet the delays in action reported by Helena show a reluctance to deal with the issue head on.

The problems with the sewage and water system in Britain are complex because of decades of underinvestment – any solutions will require significant resources. “Water companies know that any plans that they release will be subject to intense scrutiny from experts and campaigners, which they probably do not want to be subjected to,” Helena says. “The government probably doesn’t want that scrutiny either because if the plans from the water industry aren’t sufficient, then it is ministers that have to step in.” Any solution will likely involve tens of billions of pounds – which will have to come from public money, bills, or both.

The biggest offenders

Fewer than half of water companies are achieving their targets on reducing incidents of pollution. This is at least partly because, despite nearly a decade of warnings about issues caused by buckling Victorian infrastructure, Ofwat, the industry regulator, has said that most water firms have not fully invested their 2020-23 allowed funding to improve their performance and services.

The water companies Southwest, Anglian, Thames, Wessex and Southern are the worst rated for water pollution. Many of the companies have been poorly managed and are experiencing financial problems with their debt pile rising to almost £60.3bn, leaving customers to foot the bill, even though shareholders and company bosses have taken millions of pounds in dividends and bonuses.

No political will

“The government asked for a plan and some documents from the water industry, which is not much, and I don’t believe they have received it in full yet, almost a year later, which shows how ineffective they are on this,” Helena says. Even the measures that are put in place, like imposing unlimited fines for companies that break the rules, are relatively meaningless because they remain unenforced. Campaigners have said that the government needs to make it more expensive and painful for water companies not to invest in infrastructure than it is to improve things. “Until that’s the case, they’re going to continue as they are, not investing in infrastructure and paying money to shareholders in dividends instead,” Helena says.

The Labour party has not released any detailed plans on the issue, and likely won’t until the general election. Measures it has proposed include introducing criminal liability for water company bosses because the pollution their companies pump out into waterways is technically illegal.

But even Labour has not wanted to put its head above the parapet, stopping short of backing nationalisation policies even though England is one of only two countries, the other being Chile, with a privatised water sector. The money, time and disruption caused by replacing old pipes in towns, villages and cities could also backfire politically, “and the rewards would not be reaped for a decade potentially, after a party’s parliamentary term is over”, Helena says. “I think that’s why politicians have been a bit allergic to tackling the issue.”

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What else we’ve been reading

• Elle Hunt’s column this week is all about the bad habits that make us feel good and if there is a less punitive way of thinking about our vices that might help us in the long run. Nimo

• Rape cases are notoriously hard to prosecute. Melissa Denes followed barrister Tyrone Silcott, an expert in an unpopular field, for two years to discover why conviction rates are so low and barristers are quitting criminal practice in such numbers. Clare Longrigg, acting head of newsletters

• The reboot of Tina Fey’s Mean Girls is back in cinemas –and this time it’s a musical. Adrian Horton takes a look at why the original is so enduring and whether the new one can clear the high cultural bar its predecessor set. Nimo

• A housing crisis in the 1970s led to a squatters movement that took over Centre Point tower block and spread throughout the UK. Rob Booth asks if it’s time to revive “nonviolent, imaginative and direct” action on housing. Clare

• Emma Beddington has documented what committing to a week of “micro-acts” of joy has done for her levels of contentment. Despite lacking optimism, she came away with some new insights about herself: “The conclusion seems to be that to feel more joy, I need to become a more connected, outward-looking person, ruminate less and focus on finding ways, however small, of doing good in the world.” Nimo

Sport

Tennis | Polish world No 1 Iga Swiatek defeated Danielle Collins 6-4, 3-6, 6-4 to reach the third round in the Australian Open. Novak Djokovic survived a scare for the second match in succession but eventually took the third set on a tie-break. Djokovic appeared to be inspired by an exchange of words with a spectator in the fourth on his way to a 6-3, 4-6, 7-6 (4), 6-3 victory over Alexei Popyrin on Rod Laver Arena. Or perhaps it was the tree.

Rugby | Kyle Sinckler and Billy Vunipola are the glaring omissions from Steve Borthwick’s new-look England squad for the forthcoming Six Nations, with Jamie George confirmed as captain.

Football | Goals from Romain Saïss, Azzedine Ounahi and Youssef En-Nesyri fired Morocco to a 3-0 win against Tanzania in a one-sided Africa Cup of Nations opener. The Democratic Republic of Congo squandered chances in a 1-1 draw with Zambia.

The front pages

“Sunak’s Rwanda bill survives as Tory revolt melts away – for now” – the Guardian’s suspensful splash headline this morning. “Rwanda revolt withers away” says the Times. Other papers look elsewhere for their lead. “Royals’ double health shock” says the Metro – both Kate and the king are having treatment. “I’ll be there for Kate” – the Daily Mirror reports that William has cancelled all engagements. “Hospital surgery for King and Princess” – that’s the Daily Telegraph while the Daily Mail tags it as “Two royal health bombshells” and asks we “all pray that they’re both OK”. The Daily Express offers a prognosis: “Kate ‘doing well’ after surgery but recovery to take weeks”. Elsewhere in the news: the i covers “New Post Office IT scandal claims, as convicted postmasters plead for help”. Top story in the Financial Times is “Global sell-off as UK and eurozone warning signs dash rate cut hopes.”

Today in Focus

Cartoon of the day | Ben Jennings

The Upside

A bit of good news to remind you that the world’s not all bad

An exhibition at the National Theatre showcasing the next generation of UK stage designers is full of smart ideas including a truckers’ royal court and a jester-like Dr Faustus. The display, which is at the National until the end of March, comprises work by the winners of the biennial Linbury prize.

The prize has been picking out stars of the future since it was founded in 1987. If this latest display functions as a weather-vane for the state of the industry then these emerging designers are confident in their imagination and playful in their humour.

Sign up here for a weekly roundup of The Upside, sent to you every Sunday

Bored at work?

And finally, the Guardian’s puzzles are here to keep you entertained throughout the day – with plenty more on the Guardian’s Puzzles app for iOS and Android. Until tomorrow.

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