- All bill payers money is used for water services. We are not servicing eye watering debt of between 21-50% of bills. Surplus funds are reinvested.
- All the water sectors effort focuses on cleaning up our rivers lakes and seas, not servicing oversees financial interests. It is possible to collaborate to secure better solutions to our water crisis.
- Public trust is reinstated, and people can get involved in conserving and protecting water, playing our part in the safety of our water now and in the future.
- Regulators focus on people and the environment, with open and transparent data for public scrutiny, rather than chasing down private water companies with criminal investigations and trying to stop money leaking out into executives purses and shareholders bank accounts.
- Any debt needed is cheaper, as government can borrow at interest rates far lower than the 8-12% being charged by current ‘investors’.
- There will be no incentive to inflate costs or delay spending in order to accrue money for shareholders.
When pollution, historic returns to shareholders and banks, all company debts, and outstanding repair costs are taken into account, the value (and hence the cost of compensation) is likely in the case of Thames to be close to zero because shareholders and banks have already been paid and will not deserve a further bail out with taxpayer or bill payer’s money (McGaughey 2025). Other companies will follow suit.
Even if there are some upfront costs with public ownership, these are likely to soon be recouped and must be set against the ongoing high costs of privatisation. The costs will be nowhere near the current purported cost of over £100bn which is serious scaremongering.
Investments
Without the burden of private sector debt, money from bill payers is liberated to use for the plans for the next 5 years. Any additional debt required will be small, and will be attractive to patient capital as the overall water sector will be stable and predictable, rather than in perpetual crisis.
In addition the report recommends:
- A Cross-Party Crisis Committee to develop a National Strategy for Water with a strategic advisory group of independent experts – (SAGE) for Water
- Getting on top of upstream pollution with those that pollute being responsible for cleaning up our waterways, on the Polluter Pays principle
Prof Becky Malby BEM, Dr Kate Bayliss, Prof Frances Cleaver, Prof Ewan McGaughey