Water company bosses in England and Wales could face up to two years in prison under government proposals to ensure that firms provide prompt data over sewage pollution incidents. The move is one of a number of measures which also include giving regulators the power to block bonuses for senior executives who fail to meet high standards of environmental or financial conduct.

Currently, failing to comply with Environment Agency or Drinking Water Inspectorate investigation requests in a timely manner can result in a fine, although only three such fines have been issued since privatisation 30 years ago.

The Water (Special Measures) Bill has been introduced to parliament and aims to give regulators new powers to take tougher and faster action to crack down on water companies damaging the environment. There are also a number of other steps designed to tackle growing concern over ‘sewage dumping’ incidents, including independent monitoring of every outlet to improve transparency and enable prompt sharing of data on the actions of water companies.

Steve Reed, Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, said: “The public are furious that in 21st Century Britain, record levels of sewage are being pumped into our rivers, lakes and seas. After years of neglect, our waterways are now in an unacceptable state.

“That is why I am announcing immediate action to end the disgraceful behaviour of water companies and their bosses. Water executives will no longer line their own pockets whilst pumping out this filth. If they refuse to comply, they could end up in the dock and face prison time.

“This Bill is a major step forward in our wider reform to fix the broken water system. We will outline further legislation to fundamentally transform how the water industry is run and speed up the delivery of upgrades to our sewage infrastructure to clean up our waterways for good.”

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