Campaigners have reacted with fury to a deal for water companies which they claim will continue 'profit for pollution' of rivers and seas. Regulator Ofwat has announced household bills in England and Wales will rise by an average £31 a year over the next five years, before inflation, as firms are given the go-ahead for £104 billion upgrade of the water sector which it said would deliver improvements for customers and environment.
But environmentalists warned the bill hikes would not solve the sewage crisis or guarantee cleaner water. The investment package includes £12 billion on 2,884 projects to reduce sewage spills from storm overflows by 45% on 2021 levels, such as greater storage and green schemes.Ofwat chief executive David Black said the investment would 'allow companies to make huge drives in cutting the numbers of spills and improving water quality in our rivers and seas'. There is also £6 billion of upgrades to combat nature-harming nutrient pollution from water works and farming, for around 1,000 sites and river catchments. The package includes £3.3 billion for 'nature-based solutions' such as sustainable urban drainage schemes and reed bed wetlands to filter water at treatment works, and for boosting wildlife on water company land. To help water supplies become more resilient in the face of climate change, there is also £2 billion of development funding to unlock £50 billion investment for 30 major projects including nine new reservoirs and nine large-scale water transfer schemes, Ofwat said. The announcement comes amid widespread public anger over the degraded state of rivers, lakes and coastal waters, which are beset with pollution from sewage, agricultural run-off and chemical pollutants, along with rising bills, and dividends and bonuses paid out by water firm