On 18 May 2023, Water UK, a body representing water and wastewater companies, released a deplorable apology for raw sewage spills, of which there were over 300,000 in just 2022, on behalf of water and sewage companies in England. The apology came with a commitment to triple investment in sewer modernisation to £10bn but both the apology and investment stink of dishonesty after decades of underinvestment under private ownership.
Adding fuel to the fire, after announcing the £10bn investment, water companies like Anglian Water admitted that water bills could rise by £91 a year to fund the investment. Separate analyses by Greenwich University show that beyond an increase in water bills, paying for shareholder dividends across nine English water and sewerage companies will cost customers an extra £624 each by 2030. This amounts to a total of £14.67bn taken just in shareholder dividends between 2023 and 2030. Not only will customers have to cover the cost of decades of underinvestment, their bills will also continue to pad the pockets of shareholders of these companies! In an insulting attempt at appeasement, three water company bosses have given up their performance-related bonuses, which can reach up to £800,000, but it is clear that water company bosses and the shareholders on water company boards will never create a clean water system without profit incentive. Renationalise the water system!
Fight Racism! Fight Imperialism! No 294, June/July 2023
