Ritika Janiya
Trade unions, celebrities and river activists have called on Britain’s new government to order water companies to scrap up to 91% customer bill hikes in England and Wales and to review how water is owned and managed.
Michael Rosen, Nish Kumar, and Stephen Fry have joined Greenpeace, Surfers Against Sewage, River Action, the Rivers Trust, and hundreds of other activists in signing a letter to Keir Starmer urging him to take immediate action. They are doing this just before regulator Ofwat decides whether it will approve bill increases across England and Wales.
Some, like Thames Water and Southern Water, may ask for the largest bill rises. Thames Water aims for a rise of 59% before inflation is added. Southern Water’s aim is to increase the bill by 91% by 2030 to £915 a year.
The letter, which was organised by the campaign group We Own It, was also signed by the GMB and Unite unions. It says: “Saturday marked 35 years since the Water Act 1989, which set up our current water and sewage system—including privatization and top-down regulation.”.
“If this failed model continues, Labour could face the next election with some bills topping £915 a year and sewage being a bigger health threat than ever.”
The letter urges the prime minister to halt the current price-setting process and instead initiate a “public review of ownership and regulation … with representation from water campaigners and trade unions, alongside customers”.
The move is in response to strong public outcry over sewage pollution in rivers and seas and the dreadful state of English rivers. There is a rising fear for the public health menace from the treatment of wastewater in England. According to Professor Chris Whitty, the chief medical officer for England, public health must lie at the heart of future investment in any new wastewater system, urging that people must be better protected from waterborne diseases caused by contact with polluted rivers and coastal waters.
Also under pressure is Ofwat, which permitted firms to pay £78 billion in dividends over the past 30 years but allowed their debts to balloon to £60 billion. On Thursday it will reveal whether companies’ business plans meet expectations.
The Ofwat decision had been delayed from December until July 11 because of the general election and comes when ministers are warned of a mounting crisis in the water sector. Debts of almost £15 billion burden Thames Water; investors are threatening to withdraw their support for this biggest of the privatized water companies. Ofwat pointed a finger at other privatized companies—including Southern Water, SES Water, and South East Water—over financial stability concerns. Added to this list under scrutiny is Yorkshire Water and Portsmouth Water.
“No other country runs water and sewage the way we do: 90% is publicly owned and delivered,” the letter to Starmer says.
“Regulation has been flawed, captured, and underfunded: a constant threat to the current model. Accountability must be reviewed, including putting community representatives on company boards and using ‘sunshine regulation’ for greater transparency.”
