The sight of sewage polluting our beaches and waterways is abhorrent and should be treated as a major concern by Environment Secretary Thérèse Coffey.

While Ms Coffey revealed the Government’s latest plan to tackle water pollution, there is a feeling that measures don’t go far enough.

The Environment Secretary says that there is no way of stopping pollution overnight. She is right of course, but to overlook the Government’s role in allowing the situation to deteriorate to a point where sewage discharges have become the norm is not right.

Upgrading the infrastructure to protect our rivers and beaches from pollution will obviously come at a cost. But the bulk of that cost has to be shouldered by water companies, which have been rewarding themselves for many years while allowing the infrastructure to deteriorate.

Therese Coffey is the Environment Secretary. PIC: James Manning/PA Wire

David Black, boss of water regulator Ofwat, suggested that water company bosses’ pay should be linked to performance, saying at the launch of the Government’s water plan that the reputation of water companies has been damaged by “executive pay and dividends not linked to performance”.

The water regulator’s light touch regulation has been found wanting and it is time for firm action to be taken against water companies to put an end to the nation’s sewage scandal.

But the challenge of water pollution is a broad one and to truly tackle it we need to move away from societal complacency.

As well as holding water companies to account, a progressive culture needs to be promoted, ensuring every element of society does its bit to preserve our waterways. And profits can’t trump the need to protect and preserve our biodiversity.

That is why when communities raise concern over the state of their rivers, lakes and beaches, politicians should not be dismissive of them.

Societal shift needed to tackle pollution of waterways in Britain - The Yorkshire Post says