A shift in mindset is needed in the water sector but will it ever change?
The anger that has been directed towards water companies in recent years has been entirely justified. People do not take kindly to the environment being trashed whilst they are paying through their noses for the privilege.
The Environment Agency’s Environmental Performance Assessment (EPA) for 2024 shows clearly that communities are being let down by water companies. Serious pollution incidents were up 60 per cent from 2023.
Thames Water, Southern Water and Yorkshire Water were responsible for 81 per cent of these serious incidents.
The decline was down in part to the fact 2024 was a very wet and stormy year, putting extra pressure on water company assets. However, this cannot be used as an excuse. Consumers will rightly ask what it is that they pay rates for?
As the chair of the Environment Agency, Alan Lovell says this year’s results are “poor and must serve as a clear and urgent signal for change”.
“What is needed now from every water company is bold leadership, a shift in mindset, and a relentless focus on delivery,” he added.
That is the problem. Apologies from water companies are falling on deaf ears because people are not seeing improvements. And the whole industry has still not shifted the mindset from securing the greatest returns for shareholders to taking bold action and investing in desperately needed improvements.
Seeing water companies plead poverty when improvements are demanded is galling. The financial burden of improving performance must not land on the shoulders of customers. This is a mess of their own making.
What this and a second report from Ofwat on water company performance shows is that the system is failing.