Water companies seem to have no money when it’s time to repair and improve our sewage system. Raw sewage was discharged into our rivers almost 300,000 times last year, despite it being one of the driest on record.
But five of them did have over £32 million to spare to spend on something else – raising our bills! After the mostly ineffective regulator Ofwat ruled that they could raise water bills by 24% by 2030, before inflation, the water companies wanted more. And it was money well spent! The Competition and Markets Authority has allowed these water companies to raise bills by an extra 2.2% on average. That means they will get £463 million more over the next five years, paid for by us!
We need to turn off the taps of profit for the water company bosses. Take them into public ownership with compensation only on the basis of proven need. Run our water industry under democratic workers’ control and management. Pump investment into improving our leaky water system, with new reservoirs, sewage treatment facilities and modern pipes. And through this we could end the pollution scandal and bring down all our bills!
