BEWDLEY campaigners have slammed the government’s ‘Water White Paper’ as a ‘failed opportunity to take the radical action our rivers need.’
The government unveiled ’The Water White Paper’, billed as a new ‘once-in-a-generation’ plan to overhaul the water system and protect households from disruption.
The Water White Paper aims to set out clear powers for a new regulator to deliver tougher oversight and stronger accountability for water companies.
For the first time in two decades, a chief engineer will sit inside the new single water regulator and will be tasked with bringing back the hands-on checks of water infrastructure that the government feels Ofwat failed to provide.
However, the Communities Against River Pollution (CARP) group, based in Bewdley, claim the bill is aimed at placating protestors who lack trust in the water industry following ‘the diabolical record of pollution into rivers and huge bonuses for bosses.’
Dee Edwards, the chair of CARP, said: “The bill appears to allow companies to be let off paying their fines if they protest enough. The tail wags the dog.
“The UK’s river health is sliding backwards due to increased pollution from treated and untreated sewage running through old clay pipes that should have been replaced decades ago, before new housing development.
“This white paper is just what the industry and investors wanted – it allows for fines to be replaced by an improvement plan, so confidence in the industry increases and investors continue to invest.
“The government blames the regulators when the real crime is the relentless pursuit of profit from a utility that, simply put, should not be traded for profit. Efficiency, yes – profit no.
“The Cunliffe report leading to this bill totally ignored the huge call for public ownership of the water industry.
“It’s hard, looking up from the grassroots, or the riverbank, to conclude anything less than a broken industry that needs every penny reinvesting and not going to shareholders.
“Do we trust the water industry?
“I’ll leave you to draw your own conclusion.”
Environment Secretary Emma Reynolds said: “These are once-in-a-generation reforms for our water system – tough oversight, real accountability, and no more excuses.
“Water companies will have nowhere to hide from poor performance, customers will get the service they deserve, and investors will see a system built for the future.
“This builds on the tough action we’ve already delivered, from record investment to banning unfair bonuses.”
