Last month, Thames Water was fined a record £122.7 million for breaching rules of sewage spills and the payments it has made to shareholders.
The water regulator Ofwat said it had made two ‘complex’ investigations into how the Reading-based company operated, leading to the decision to issue the penalties which cannot come out of customers’ bills.
While many Wokingham borough residents get their freshwater from South East Water, wastewater is treated by Thames Water – one of the many non-benefits of the Conservatives’ failed water privatisation in the 1980s.
Thames Water has been a disgrace in the way it has failed to maintain and manage its sewage treatment works and networks. Ofwat took this into account by Ofwat ruling that the company had a significant breach of its legal obligations. David Black, the chief executive of Ofwat, was scathing, saying it had been a “clear-cut case where Thames Water had let down its customers and the environment”.
Having seen sewage pour out on to the Emm Brook in areas where children play and dogs are walked; it is hard to disagree.
The second investigation was into how Thames Water broke rules over dividend payments. Ofwat found that these payments – worth a staggering £169 million – were made without reflecting the water firm’s performance.
As a result, no further dividends can be made without Ofwat approval.
Thames Water says it takes its responsibility to the environment very seriously and had been acting on the sewage spills made from storm overflow outlets, of which there are several across the borough.
We have had warm words before. We deserve to see some action.
When our new Labour government was elected last year, they did so with a promise of doing just that: improving our failing privatised companies so that they work for the consumer rather than the shareholders wanting a fat dividend.
Unfortunately, there is no magic wand to wave: fixing all the myriad problems created by the Conservatives over the past 14 years is going to take time.
There is hope though. Another event last month has shown how this pledge translates to reality: South Western Railway became the first railway operator to be transferred back into public ownership. Over the months ahead, the logo of Great British Railways will be seen on trains calling at Earley, Winnersh, and Wokingham.
Great British Railways will be a complete reset that will mark the high standard of service and delivery the public should expect to receive and end 30 years of fragmentation and waste.
In future, the railways will have to meet rigorous, bespoke performance standards on punctuality, cancellation, and passenger experience, which in turn means a cultural reset to restore pride in our trains.
Secretary of State for Transport Heidi Alexander said most passengers do not want to think about who is running the trains, they just want them to work. She is not wrong.
The work started with the renationalisation of South Western will continue across the rail network, but it will not be complete until the end of 2027. The reason for the staggered service is that to protect the taxpayer services are transferred when a franchise ends.
This pragmatic approach is sensible, measured, and cost-effective with a long-term goal to fix what was broken.
The Labour government is doing the same across a wealth of services and problems including fly-tipping, fixing schools, building solar farms, and sorting out the NHS backlog.
And for water companies? There are now 81 criminal investigations into firms as part of a crackdown on sewage being dumped. Guilty bosses face up to five years in jail and their firms fined millions.
The Government’s Water Act prevents six water companies, including Thames Water, from paying bonuses to executives, ending the era of profiting from polluting.
These powerful deterrents will ensure that infrastructure is upgraded, and sewage discharges cut by half, and our rivers, lakes and seas will be cleaner and safer.
After years of neglect the tide is finally turning in favour of the public.
Councillor Rachel Burgess is the leader of the Labour group on Wokingham Borough Council and a ward member for Norreys
