Newbury MP praises Ofwat’s £104m fine for Thames Water and calls for bonus ban

Plans to fine Thames Water £104m for sewage discharges has been welcomed by one of West Berkshire’s MPs.

Earlier this week, the water regulator Ofwat announced it was planning the action against the Reading-based company for historic sewage spills, management of wastewater treatment works, its sewer network and storm overflows.

It is the highest proposed fine: Yorkshire Water could face a penalty of £47m and Northumbrian Water £17m.

It is also around nine per cent of the company’s annual turnover.

The regulator blasted the firm for failing to ensure sewage discharges only happen in exceptional circumstances, failing to maintain its sites and upgrade assets where necessary.

It also said the company had been slow to understand the scope of its obligations towards limiting pollution from storm overflows, and didn’t have necessary information, processes and oversight to comply with the requirements.

Two-thirds of its wastewater treatment works were found to have capacity and operational issues, while one in six of its storm overflows linked to the sites were in breach of approved standards.

The fines are now being consulted on, and, if approved, Thames Water will not be allowed to recover the penalty from customers’ bills, nor will it be able to charge customers twice when additional maintenance is required.

Ofwat’s chief executive David Black said: “We have uncovered a catalogue of failure by Thames Water in how they ran their sewage works and this resulted in excessive spills from storm overflows.

“The level of penalties we intend to impose signals both the severity of the failings and our determination to take action to ensure water companies do more to deliver cleaner rivers and seas.”

In a statement, a spokesperson for Thames Water said it takes Ofwat’s verdict very seriously, and would cooperate fully with its investigation.

“We are encouraged that Ofwat recognises that in order to resolve the issues identified any redress needs to be deliverable, affordable and financeable,” it said.

“We will continue to engage with Ofwat and will respond to the consultation in due course.”

Newbury’s Liberal Democrat MP Lee Dillon said the regulator’s intervention was “refreshing after years of inaction and failure under the last Conservative Government”, pointing out that the area had 561 sewage dumps last year.

“This fine should only be the start,” he said.

“We need to ban bonuses for executives and end the era of bumper profits in this industry.

“It’s high time we saw serious consequences for the environmental damage these companies have caused.”

The water company had made £154m in shareholder payouts, something that Mr Dillon felt should be taken into account when Ofwat makes its final verdict.

“Thames Water must face the full consequences of their actions. It's unacceptable that they prioritise investor profits over environmental responsibility,” he said.

“In the Newbury constituency alone, sewage was dumped 561 times in 2023. This can't continue.”

He also wanted to see further action to clean up the industry: “We need serious reforms to prevent future environmental scandals and protect our communities.”