UK government vows to clean up Windermere after sewage criticism

Environment secretary points to measures to stop lake being ‘choked by unacceptable levels’ of pollution

The government has said it will “clean up Windermere” after criticism over the volume of sewage being pumped into England’s largest lake.

The environment secretary, Steve Reed, pledged “only rainwater” would enter the famous body of water in the Lake District, putting an end to the situation where it Windermere was being “choked by unacceptable levels of sewage pollution”.

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River campaigners to sue Ofwat over water bill rises

Group claims regulator signed off on ‘broken system’ making customers pay for industry’s neglect

An environmental group is to take legal action against Ofwat, the water regulator, accusing it of unlawfully making customers pay for decades of neglect by the water industry.

River Action will file the legal claim this month, arguing that bill rises for customers that have been approved by the regulator could be used to fix infrastructure failures that should have been addressed years ago.

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Thames Water wins court backing for £3bn debt package

Deal approved at high court gives company £1.5bn in upfront cash to stave off collapse

Thames Water has won court approval for an emergency debt package worth up to £3bn that should stave off the collapse of Britain’s biggest water company for at least another few months.

London’s high court said on Tuesday that the deal could proceed, after hearing four days of complex arguments earlier this month over whether it should go ahead. The deal will allow the company to avoid special administration, in effect a temporary nationalisation.

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Water companies in England ‘use greenwashing playbook to hide environmental harm’

Researchers say companies have prolonged injustice and exaggerated cost of solving infrastructure problems

Water companies are adopting disinformation tactics similar to those used by the fossil fuel and tobacco industries with the widespread use of greenwashing to downplay the environmental harm they cause, a study says.

Environmental scientists analysed the communications of the nine main water and sewerage companies in England, and compared them with a framework of 28 greenwashing tactics employed, researchers say, by the tobacco, alcohol, fossil fuels and chemical industries.

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UK government contacts potential administrators for Thames Water

Teneo, Interpath and EY among those reportedly approached for the role if company falls into bankruptcy

The UK government has reportedly approached multiple restructuring advisers for the role of special administrator for Thames Water if the troubled utility falls into bankruptcy.

Teneo, Interpath and EY are among the companies contacted by the government as it prepares contingency plans should Britain’s largest water company be forced into nationalisation, the Financial Times reported, citing people familiar with the process.

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Treasury seeks to keep water firm fines earmarked for sewage cleanups

Exclusive: Restoration fund in England could be ‘siphoned off’ to be used for general government spending, not repairing rivers

Rachel Reeves’s Treasury is looking to keep millions of pounds levied on polluting water companies in fines that were meant to be earmarked for sewage cleanup, the Guardian has learned.

The £11m water restoration fund was announced before the election last year, with projects bidding for the cash to improve waterways and repair damage done by sewage pollution in areas where fines have been imposed.

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Clean water campaigners claim victory in Windermere sewage case

United Utilities has dropped legal fight to block access to data on the discharge of treated sewage in Lake District

The water company United Utilities has conceded defeat in its legal battle to block public access to data on treated sewage it is discharging into Windermere in the Lake District.

Company officials initially claimed that data from phosphorus monitors at a main sewage treatment works at the lake was not environmental information. The company also wanted to block access to data from Cunsey Beck, a site of special scientific interest, which flows into Windermere.

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Water firms push for higher shareholder returns as Ofwat considers bills increase

Companies say higher returns are needed to ensure record infrastructure investment across industry is delivered

Water companies want to see higher returns for shareholders to ensure record investment into sewage infrastructure, pipes and treatment plants is delivered.

As Ofwat, the water regulator for England and Wales, prepares to announce its decision on how much customer bills will be allowed to rise by to fund tens of billions of pounds in investment across the industry, water companies said higher returns were needed.

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Regulator stops customers from being billed for ‘undeserved’ bonuses

Ofwat uses new powers to ensure investors pay at Thames, Yorkshire, and Dŵr Cymru Welsh Water

Investors at Thames Water, Yorkshire Water, and Dŵr Cymru Welsh Water will be forced to pick up the tab for executive bonuses after the regulator determined that the sector had awarded “undeserved” extra payments, worth £6.8m.

Ofwat said on Thursday it had used new powers to ensure that shareholders and bondholders at the three companies paid for bonuses because they had not “adequately reflected overall company performance issues”.

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Floods, explosions and asbestos: Thames Water faces potential problems on all fronts

Exclusive: Senior managers say they are forced to press ahead with orders for vital items without approval

When Sarah Bentley and Sarah Albon met at Beckton sewage treatment works in east London, the choice of location was designed to underline Thames Water’s predicament.

The site is Europe’s largest sewage treatment operation, with Grade II-listed parts of the site dating to the 1860s. It is now connected with the new Thames Tideway super-sewer, but insiders say several parts of the site are simply crumbling. The site is also riddled with asbestos.

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United Utilities refuses to hand over data on sewage discharges into Windermere

Water company claims information is not in the public interest despite widespread pollution of UK waters

‘It’s a national disgrace’: fury at sewage-filled Windermere over toxic algae and dead fish

One of the UK’s biggest water companies is fighting a legal battle to block public access to data on treated sewage it is discharging into Windermere in the Lake District.

United Utilities initially claimed that data from phosphorus monitors at sewage treatment works at the lake “was not environmental information”. It later claimed the information on phosphorus – which can pollute watercourses when at high levels – was “internal communication” and exempt from disclosure.

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Southern Water’s debt downgraded to junk status by Moody’s

Company close to technical default on some of its debt, underlining UK industry’s precarious state

Southern Water’s debt has been downgraded to junk status by the credit rating agency Moody’s in a decision that underlines the precarious state of the UK water industry.

Moody’s said Southern’s “history of material operational and financial under-performance” could imperil its plan, announced last month, to borrow £4bn from investors.

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Angela Rayner defends right of activists to campaign in US elections after criticism from Donald Trump – UK politics live

Comment follows accusation from Trump campaign that Labour staffers had been interfering in US election

The Labour party has put out a statement rejecting allegations that it broke US election law because activists and staff members have been volunteering to help the Democrats.

A Labour spokesperson said:

It is common practice for campaigners of all political persuasions from around the world to volunteer in US elections.

Where Labour activists take part, they do so at their own expense, in accordance with the laws and rules.

We said that because working people had already paid the burden under the last government, we wouldn’t increase the taxes, the main taxes that working people pay, so income tax - all rates - national insurance and VAT. So those taxes that working people pay, we’re not increasing those taxes in the budget.

We go into this budget with a number of challenges - the £22bn black hole just this year, in the public finances, the unfinanced company compensation schemes, for example on infected blood and Horizon, it’s really important that we honour but they weren’t in the forecasts from the previous government.

The fact that the previous government had baked in austerity to our public spending settlements in the years to come, and we committed to not return to austerity.

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Water companies raise bonuses to £9.1m despite record sewage discharges

Third of total comprises bonuses at Severn Trent as indebted Thames nearly doubles payouts to executives

Bonuses for water company bosses in England and Wales rose to £9.1m this year despite record sewage discharges into rivers and seas.

More than a third of that total comprised bonuses at Severn Trent, which was fined £2m this year for “reckless” pollution but lifted its bonuses to £3.36m.

Thames Water almost doubled its payouts to executives, from £746,000 in 2021-22 to £1.3m in 2023-24, despite its CEO quitting halfway through the year.

Data from Companies House, analysed by the Liberal Democrats, show that overall bonuses increased from £9.013m last year to £9.127m this year.

The payouts pile further pressure on the regulator, Ofwat, to intervene in the decisions of water company boards. Last year, raw sewage was discharged for more than 3.6m hours into rivers and seas, a 105% increase on the previous 12 months.

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Water companies in England and Wales told to pay £158m penalty to customers

Ofwat says firms must lower bills next year after poor performance on issues such as sewage spills and leaks

Water companies in England and Wales will have to return nearly £158m to customers through lower bills next year after falling further behind on key targets including sewage spills and leaks.

The regulator, Ofwat, announced the penalties as part of its annual review of companies’ performance.

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Southern Water seeks to borrow up to £4bn from investors

Move could increase pressure on utility companies turning to bond markets amid crisis at Thames Water

Southern Water is looking to borrow up to £4bn from investors over the next five years, in a move that could ratchet up the pressure on utility companies turning to bond markets for support amid the ongoing crisis at Thames Water.

An investor presentation posted to Southern Water’s website shows that it will need to tap investors for up to £3.8bn worth of debt over the next five years, as part of a revised business plan – on top of needing to raise £650m worth of equity.

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Unresolved water complaints in England and Wales rise to near-decade high

Customer disputes over sewage spills, billing mistakes and water meters soar in past year

The number of customer complaints that were unable to be resolved by water companies in England and Wales has risen by almost a third to the highest level in nearly a decade.

There was a 29% increase in 2023-24 in cases escalated to the Consumer Council for Water (CCW) by households that failed to achieve a resolution from their supplier, the watchdog said.

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Small firms face near-30% rise in water bills, Ofwat letter reveals

Businesses in England and Wales say they are paying for ‘historic errors’ by water suppliers

Small businesses have accused water suppliers of saddling them with the cost of “historic errors” made by bosses in the scandal-hit industry, as it emerged their bills will rise nearly 30% by 2030.

The water industry regulator, Ofwat, has told businesses that it expects average wholesale charges for non-household customers – which include small firms, charities and hospitals – to increase by about 27% before inflation over the next five years, outstripping the anticipated rise in household bills.

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Labour used water industry analysis to argue against nationalisation

‘Economically illiterate’ Defra letter sent to anti-sewage groups cites 2018 report commissioned by water companies

Labour used “economically illiterate” analysis paid for by water companies in order to argue against the nationalisation of the sector, the Guardian can reveal.

In an official letter recently sent to anti-sewage groups, civil servants cited a paper by the Social Market Foundation as a reason to avoid nationalisation as part of its review of the sector. The report from 2018 was commissioned by United Utilities, Anglian Water, Severn Trent and South West Water.

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Southern Water considers shipping supplies from Norwegian fjords to UK

Contingency plan using sea tankers to deal with future shortages would be paid for from customers’ bills

Southern Water, one of Britain’s biggest water companies, is drawing up contingency plans to tanker water from Norway to deal with future supply shortages and drought.

Southern, which has 2.7 million customers for drinking water supply in the south-east of England, could import water from Norwegian fjords to provide up to 45m litres a day, and would pay for it from customers’ bills.

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