News and events

This blog will display news and events information in chronological order, newest first, plus a list of the most recent posts. The drop down Category list below It can be filtered by category from the list, which is in alphabetical order.

New Inquiry into PR24 etc

EFRA has launched a new Inquiry into reforming the water sector

The Committee will hold the first evidence session of this inquiry in January, where it will consider the impact of Ofwat’s final determination on how much water bills will be permitted to rise over the next five years. It will then take evidence from some of the worst performing water companies to determine what has gone wrong in the sector and how the Government can make improvements. 

This new inquiry will examine the Government’s work taking place in this area, including the progress of the Water (Special Measures) Bill, and the work of the Government’s Independent Commission into the water sector, which is expected to report in mid-2025.

THIS MEANS we need letters to MPs asap. If any of your members haven’t written to your MP please can you ask them too. Here is the link to the template letter

https://campaigns.sewagecampaignnetwork.org.uk/

Thanks all

Prof Becky Malby

Water (Special Measures) Bill Labour not suporting our amendments

Dear friends
You have seen the amendments to the Water (Special Measures) Bill that were supported firstly by Lord Prem Sikka (Labour) and Baroness Jenny Jones (Green) in the Lords, and rejected; and now by Tim Farron and Charlie Marshall (Lib dem) in the committee stage – and are still being rejected.
This is the list of MPs on the Committee.
Of these, 4 came to our briefing at the HoP in December:
Amanda Hack (NW Leicester, Labour)
Catherine Fookes (Monmouthshire, Labour)
Jayne Kirkham (Truro and Falmouth, Labour)
Charlie Maynard (Witney, Lib Dem) – the WASP MP, and Charlie sponsored all our amendments into this committee
If your MP is on the Committee
(a) please can you let us know and
(b) please can you get in touch with them before the final committee meetings this week which are on Tuesday and Thursday, to lobby them to support our amendments.
We are asking that the Committee supports our amendments which in the current Bill format are as follows:
  1. The government clarify and enforce existing legislation

    1. Stop untreated sewage discharges outside Exceptional Circumstances (to comply with the 1994 act)

    2. Put failing water companies into special administration (Amend Section 12 – 14)

    3. Convict Directors that fail to address prosecutable offenses (Amend section 5-7 ).

  1. That the Water (Special Measures Bill) is further amended to:

    1. Reform the duties of Ofwat to be for clean water, conservation and reasonable bills (Amend Section 9).

    2. Prohibits  public bailout of the water industry (Amend Section 12 Modification by Secretary of State of water company’s appointment conditions etc to recover losses).

    3. Put employees and bill payers on the Boards of water companies (Addition to Section 1)

    4. Require volume monitoring on every outflow and public scrutiny of all water company self-monitoring of water quality (Amend section 3 141F Reporting on discharge from emergency overflows)

Many thanks all
Prof Becky Malby
Ilkley Clean River Group

Ofwat rises prices further than they trailed in July An average of £31 a year

Message from Professor Becky Malby of ICRG

OFWAT PRICE RISES

Ofwat rises prices further than they trailed in July. An average of £31 a year
Anglian 29%
Northumbrian 21%
Severn Trent 47%
South West 23%
Southern Water 53%
Thames 35%
United Utilities 32%
Wessex 21%
Yorkshire Water 41%

URGENT: ASK YOUR MP TO STOP WATER BILL RISES

We have a pre-populated letter for everyone to send to their MPs. All you need to do is pop in your postcode and it generates the email to send.
Please ask all your campaign followers and members to send urgently today.
TEMPLATE LETTER TEXT IN CASE OF ANY GLITCHES
Dear [insert MP name]

I am angry and alarmed at today’s huge price rises for water, and write to ask you to require this government to stop the bill rises until all criminal investigations of water companies are completed, and the government has fully investigated water company finances.

It is shocking in the midst of a cost of living crisis, to be asked to pay more whilst wealthy shareholders continue to extract money, and we continue to be cheated from the services we are paying for – the treatment of our sewage. We have no choice in who provides our water and sewerage services, we are captive customers and therefore powerless.

We know that the water industry has already received all the investment it needs to fund the infrastructure upgrades necessary to comply with the law, with £17bn spare, so why are we being asked to pay again for a service we should already have received?

The public has had enough of the illegality and mismanagement at the heart of the UK’s privatised water industry. I hope you will stand up for us in opposing these bill increases and in pushing for a fairer water system that puts people and nature, not shareholder profit, at its heart.

Thank you
Prof Becky Malby

Swimming status of Ilkley’s River Wharfe in limbo over sewage pollution

Stretch of river in West Yorkshire was first to get bathing status in 2020 but has since recorded poor water quality.

That’s the headline in today’s Guardian.

The first river to be given bathing water status in England is in limbo waiting for the Environment Agency (EA) to approve crucial nature-based solutions that are part of £43m in improvements to cut sewage pollution.

You can read the whole article by clicking here

River Wharfe Revealed to Have Concerning Pollution Levels

Recent testing conducted by Wetherby and Villages Clean River Group, in partnership with Surfers Against Sewage, Watershed, and York University has highlighted alarming pollution levels in the River Wharfe at Wetherby. Over a week of monitoring in August this year, 17 sites were analysed, with Wetherby often recording higher levels of harmful bacteria and pollutants compared to Ilkley.

Bacteria Levels Exceed Thresholds

Testing showed consistently high levels of E. Coli and coliform bacteria, indicators of faecal contamination:

  • Day 1: Wetherby ranked 4th worst for E. Coli and 5th for coliform bacteria.
  • Day 4: E. Coli levels were the 2nd highest, and coliforms ranked 1st, both exceeding Ilkley’s measurements.
  • Day 7: Wetherby was 4th worst for E. Coli and 3rd for coliforms, remaining significantly polluted.

Chemical Pollution – Top 3 Contaminants in Wetherby

Additional testing identified 43 unique pollutants, with a worrying concentration of industrial and pharmaceutical residues. The top three pollutants were:

  1. Chrysene – Found in coal tar, bitumen, and asphalt, commonly used in road and roofing materials.
  2. Metformin – A widely prescribed medication for Type 2 diabetes, indicative of wastewater contamination.
  3. Fexofenadine – An antihistamine used to treat allergies, also linked to pharmaceutical discharge.

Comparison with Ilkley

Ilkley is a key comparison further up the Wharfe, their top pollutants included metformin, caffeine, and nicotine, while Wetherby’s profile includes a significant industrial contaminant, chrysene, suggesting differing pollution sources and risks.

The next steps

The results provide a positive lever in effecting change to improve the river Wharfe. Working with Yorkshire Water, The Environment agency, Local and National Government, we will be pressing for practical measures to ensure a reduction in human and pollutant waste. 

Read today’s article in The Times

Independent Water Commission needs to move quickly to clean up our rivers, lakes and seas

Press Release issued by ICRG:

1. There is no question the whole water system needs an overhaul. Monopoly privatisation with weak regulation has let rip a pollution for profit model, which no amount of Water (Special Measures) Bill tinkering will fix. The public is already paying off eye-watering company debt and dividends is costing us here in Yorkshire 23% of our bills, with no environmental or service improvement.
2. We welcome the Commision as long as it includes scrutiny of all the models of ownership so that we go from the poorest performing water system in Europe to amongst the best. The aim must be to radically improve the water quality of our rivers, lakes and seas whilst securing best value for the bill payer.
Currently we have one of the highest customer bills in Europe but also lag behind in water quality (Prof Ewan McGaughey 2024). At the same time every water company is under criminal investigation by Ofwat and the EA for illegal activity.
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3. Our rivers, lakes and seas can’t wait. The Commission will take time. Meanwhile the government is sitting on existing legislation, which if enacted will stop pollution of our waterways outside of exceptional circumstances. The government needs to rigorously enforce the law now. Without this it is subjecting our waters to years more pollution, whilst the customer continues to pay water companies debt without getting the investment our rivers, lakes and seas need. Here in Yorkshire shareholders have invested less than zero since privitisation in 1990, whilst extracting nearly £10 billion (David Hall 2024). This has to stop now.
4. Against this backdrop of failure of the current system the Water (Special Measures) Bill makes provision for public bailout of failing companies by requiring water companies to raise money for debt from customers, a complete betrayal of the duty to protect customers of monopoly companies providing something that no-one can give up – water. This means yet again the public is paying for profiteering.  We have provided an amendment that  ‘instructs the Secretary of State and HM Treasury to not bail-out the shareholders or creditors of any water company’.
“Campaign groups from across the country are outraged that the public and bill payers continue to pay for water company failure with no prospect of a clean up in time to save our rivers, lakes and seas from the devastating effects of sewage pollution.” Prof Becky Malby, Ilkley Clean River Group
Notes
  1. You can find a briefing on our broken sewage system provided to all MPs here
  2. Ilkley Clean River Group has been campaigning for 5 years to stop the sewage pollution of the River Wharfe
  3. The Sewage Campaign Network with the assistance of Prof Ewan McGaughey, Professor of Law at Kings College University, London, have provided a set of amendments to protect the public from further exploitation from the broken water industry.
  4. Ilkley Clean River Group is a founding member of The Sewage Campaign Network:Henley Mermaids, Ilkley Clean River Group, Save Windermere, SOS Whitstable, and Windrush Against Sewage Pollution are a network of leading grassroots campaigners steeped in our local communities, trying to save our rivers, lakes and seas from sewage pollution; and the founders of the current massive public storm. Our coalition consists of the forerunners in the campaign to stop sewage pollution, passionate community members committed to safeguarding rivers, lakes, and coastlines from pollution.  We have not been captured, we don’t take money from government, regulators or the water companies; we are truly independent. We take pride in our integrity. We have found that in order to save our local waters, we have had to step up and challenge the whole water system, campaigning to get the law enforced. We are also mobilising hundreds of community campaign groups like ours, providing briefings, educational sessions, supporting the practicalities of water testing, campaigning and lobbying. Each group within the network operates independently, but we speak as one, channeling the public’s outrage at pollution for profit.
  5. Ilkley Clean River Group secured the first river to be awarded Bathing Status. The river is persistently rated poor water quality and the Status is up for renewal in 2025. If it remains poor the river will be ‘de-designated’ by Defra
  6. The campaign has secured some investment from Yorkshire Water with a new Sewer in Ilkley, and there is a plan to clean up the river currently going through the Ofwat PR24 process.
Contact
Karen Shackleton 07312112061
Prof Becky Malby 07974777309

Guardian article about putting water companies into Special Administration

Thames Water and other failing water companies should be placed into special administration to allow the government to tackle much-needed reforms to the industry, campaigners say.

Triggering special administration would put Thames and other failing companies in government control, removing company directors and ending the dividends paid to shareholders. The companies could then be transferred to new owners who could be publicly owned or controlled.

The campaigners include Save Windermere, Ilkley Clean River Group, Surfers Against Sewage, Windrush Against Sewage Pollution, SOS Whitstable and River Action.

You can read the whole Guardian article here

 

Message from Professor Becky Malby of ICRG

The attached and below has gone to all MPs and all campaign groups in our network. Please do follow-up with your MP or pass onto anyone you think would be interested.

Many thanks

Prof Becky Malby

 

To All MPs

Dear all

Briefing on securing clean rivers, lakes and seas. 

At the drop-in hosted by Clive Lewis recently, MPs taking part asked us for a simple briefing on the key issues we face nationally in securing clean rivers, lakes and seas. 

Please find attached a briefing from Ilkley Clean River Group, Save Windermere, SOS Whitstable, Windrush Against Sewage, Henley Mermaids, River Action and Surfers AgAinst Sewage. We hope this answers any questions you may have, but if you do need more information please do reply to this email address. 

Water (Special Measures) Bill

Please also find attached four amendments to the water (Special Measures) Bill that strengthen the bill to ensure customers and the environment are protected and address the weakness in regulation. 

We propose amendments to the bill:

  1. Put failing water companies into special administration
  2. Stop public bailout of the water industry (the bill allows for public bailout).
  3. Reform the duties of Ofwat to be for clean water, conservation and regional bills. This brings English water regulation up to the standards of, and improves upon, the Water (Scotland) Act 1980 section 1 (The Bill puts growth before the environment. ).
  4. Put employees and bill payers on the Boards of water companies. This reflects the normal practice in most wealthier OECD countries for large companies.

We have had the assistance of Prof Ewan McGaughey, Professor of Law at King’s College University, London, in drafting the attached clauses and explanatory notes.

Prof Becky Malby, Ilkley Clean River Group
Matt Staniek, Save Windermere
Sal Burtt Jones, SOS Whitstable
Ashley Smith, Windrush Against Sewage

Amendments to the Water (Special Measures) Bill 28.09.2024

Briefing on Key Issues to Secure Clean Rivers Lakes and Seas Sept 2024 (1)