It stinks! Shareholders’ £23bn in water payouts

WATER firms have handed their shareholders more than £23billion in dividends since 2010, according to figures from regulator Ofwat.

Over 90% of England’s water companies are owned by international investors, private equity funds and banks, while just 8.5% of shareholders in the water sector are UK pension funds.

Campaigner Charles Watson, of River Action, blasted the bonanza which he claimed had “come at the expense of river health”.

He said: “Increasingly, river users [are] getting sick because of the thousands of tons of human sewage being discharged on a daily basis.

“These polluters must clean up their act, invest in climate-proof infrastructure, fix their leaky pipes and build new reservoirs.

Wrecking

“Our regulators also need to do the job they are tasked with by enforcing the law to stop the water firms wrecking the environment.”

Environment minister Robbie Moore said: “Water companies must not profit from environmental damage. Through the Environment Act 2021 [we] have given Ofwat increased powers to hold companies to account for their performance.

“Using these powers it introduced a new licence condition to require companies to demonstrate dividends are linked to performance for customers and the environment.”

Thames Water investors recently pulled a £500million funding lifeline after Ofwat refused the giant’s demands for a 40% bill hike for customers and leniency on penalties for not meeting targets.

The £23.4bn for shareholders of water firms in England from 2010 to April 2022 was revealed in response to a written parliamentary question from Labour MP Steve Reed. He said: “The Conservatives have let water companies starve our broken sewage system of investment while funding their dividends from debts. The result is stinking sewage pouring into our rivers.” A Tory source said: “This government is holding water companies to account, banning water bosses from receiving bonuses if a company has committed serious criminal breaches and increasing inspections fourfold.” Water UK, which represents water companies, has been contacted for a comment.

●Over half of water workers have seen a rise in abuse from the public since the sewage dumping crisis flared, found a GMB poll of 1,300.