Water bosses could lose big bonuses and even face jail

Water company bosses could be banned from receiving bonuses — and even sent to prison under new Government legislation to combat pollution. The proposed laws will apply in England and Wales and give increased powers to regulators to tackle companies that continue to pollute, making it easier for them to be fined. 

Environment Secretary Steve Reed said the measures would “end the disgraceful behaviour of water companies and their bosses”. Several firms have been widely criticised for giving multimillion-pound pay packages to their executives while continuing to spill sewage into lakes, rivers and the sea. 

The new Water (Special Measures) Bill will put in place harsher penalties for breaking laws, with prison sentences of up to two years for any executives who fail to cooperate with or obstruct investigators. 

Criminal charges 

The burden of proof in civil cases will be lowered so the Environment Agency can more easily bring forward criminal charges against executives. 

Regulators will be given the power to stop bonus payments to water bosses if they fail to meet standards on protecting the environment and their consumers. The new legislation will also give the regulators the power to recover costs from water companies for enforcement action taken. 

Despite the new legislation, many suggest that the real issue is the failure of the water regulator, Ofwat, and the Environment Agency to enforce existing legislation properly. Only 14% of England’s rivers are currently assessed to have good ecological status. 

Lindsay Waddell, former chairman of the National Gamekeepers’ Organisation, told Shooting Times: “The Government would appear to have gone for what is no more or less than a PR move by threatening the bosses of the water companies with a jail term. 

“There are already very strict criteria in place for a whole raft of issues regarding water, but the regulator has simply been far too easy on the companies. Some of the fines look large, but they amount to one penny in the pound set against the dividends paid out. 

“Quite how they have been allowed to pay these bonuses out while simultaneously flouting the regulations on discharges is beyond me. To then ask the consumer to pay even more when they have pocketed vast percentages of the profits is a hard pill to swallow,” he added. 

“It’s about time the Government took a hard look at its own regulatory system because it is not fit for purpose. Water is, after all, the lifeblood of the countryside.”