Sewage crisis: water company bosses could face years in jail under new laws however Ilkley campaigners say Labour plan will be ineffective

However, the Ilkley Clean River Group has said the bill does not go far enough, and has written to the Environment Secretary arguing that it does not “address the issues”.

It wants a focus on regulators enforcing the law, and wants water companies to be blocked from hiking bills until they can show they are not breaking regulations.

The Government has also said the current enforcement system is insufficient to hold firms accountable for widespread illegality in the sector, citing that only three individuals have been criminally prosecuted by the Environment Agency without appeal since privatisation.

Under the Bill, harsher penalties for law-breaking will be introduced, including jail sentences of up to two years for executives who fail to cooperate or obstruct Environment Agency and Drinking Water Inspectorate investigations.

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

Regulators will also be empowered to ban bonus payments to water bosses if they fail to meet high standards to protect the environment, their consumers and their company’s finances.

Sewage spills have contributed to a situation in which no single river in Yorkshire is considered to be in good overall health, with activists finding 10 times the normal levels of E.coli at Knaresborough Lido.

Environment Secretary Steve Reed said: “The public are furious that in 21st century Britain, record levels of sewage are being pumped into our rivers, lakes and seas.

“Under this Government, 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.”

The Ilkley Clean River Group has wrote to Mr Reed on Tuesday, raising concerns about the bill.

The collective, which campaigns to protect the River Wharfe and coordinates 100 sewage groups nationwide, said the priority has to be that the regulators actually enforce the law.

It added that failing water companies must be put into special measures and there shouldn’t be any bill rises until the firms are “operating within the law”.

The letter said: “While there is delay in enforcing the legislation, the water companies will continue to take money out of the water system, in dividends, bonuses and loan payments, reducing the water system capacity and continuing to pollute our rivers, lakes and seas to the detriment of the health of people and wildlife.

“Our regulators are not in agreement on the law, how to implement it and what is the best possible solution to sewage pollution.”

The group makes the point to Mr Reed that in Ilkley, the regulators and Yorkshire Water “continue to disagree on the application of the law, how to regulate against the law, and what solutions actually work”.

“We have been successful in securing the first bathing status river, and then a place on Ofwat's accelerator, where Ofwat is supporting the first scheme in the country to clean up the stretch of river so that it is not polluted by sewage,” the letter said. 

“However, the EA and Yorkshire Water persist in being unable to agree what that solution looks like and how to regulate it and we are at risk of having no solution here when one was within grasp.”

The group added that stopping bonuses “will not work” as companies will just increase salaries.

lan Lovell, chair of the Environment Agency, said the regulator welcomed the Government’s ambition to drive through “much-needed” reform.

“The Bill will give us, as regulator, more power to protect our precious water quality and resources, hold water companies to account and ensure the polluter pays,” he said.

David Black, chief executive of Ofwat, said: “This Bill strengthens our powers and will help us drive transformative change in the water industry so that it delivers better outcomes for customers and the environment.”

A Water UK spokesman said: “We agree with the Government that the water system is broken. Fixing it requires the Government to deliver the two things which it has promised: fundamental regulatory reform and speeding up investment.

“Ofwat needs to back our £105 billion investment plan in full to secure our water supplies, enable economic growth and end sewage spilling into our rivers and seas.”