| 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.” For more Guardian reporting on the environment and climate crisis, sign up here to receive Down to Earth every Thursday | 