Campaigners threaten to sue water regulator over sewage spills

OFWAT has been threatened with legal action over its failure to prevent river sewage pollution.

The campaign group Wild Justice, represented by the law firm Leigh Day, says it could launch a judicial review of the regulator, which oversees water pricing and spending.

Water companies have faced growing scrutiny over the practice of dumping untreated sewage into the sea and rivers, which is happening more often because Britain’s outdated sewer systems are unable to handle the volume of waste and rainwater flowing into them.

These “overflow” escape valves are supposed to only be used in extreme circumstances but figures show that this happened more than 370,000 times last year.

Sewage in rivers leads to “eutrophication”, where nutrient-rich water means algae grow out of control, choking other vegetation and removing sources of food and breeding opportunities for wildlife.

Wild Justice said the regulator was failing in its duty to make sure Britain’s sewage treatment plants were fit for purpose. It accused Ofwat of being “entirely passive in relation to enforcement” and said it had “taken no steps to obtain information relating to compliance by water companies in relation to their sewage treatment plants”.

The regulator has the power to fine water companies for failing to fulfil their duty to provide a fit-for-purpose water system. The highest such penalty was £126million levied against Southern Water for failings between 2010 and 2015.

The group, led by Chris Packham, the BBC presenter, and conservationists Dr

Mark Avery and Dr Ruth Tingay, said: “It’s not so much Ofwat as Ofwhere? They are missing in action.”

Carol Day, a solicitor at Leigh Day, said: “While the public are rightly frustrated with the Environment Agency for an apparent reluctance to prosecute water companies for breaches of permits, there’s an underlying question as to whether our Victorian sewage treatment plants are still fit for purpose.

“The responsibility for ascertaining the position on that – and for requiring action where they are not – lies with Ofwat, but it appears to be doing nothing to solve that underlying problem.

“Our clients hope that highlighting Ofwat’s duties in this regard will ensure the necessary steps are taken to upgrade our outdated sewage plants.”

An Ofwat spokesman said: “We have recently received a letter from Leigh Day on behalf of Wild Justice and we intend to respond to it fully … it would not be appropriate to comment further at this point.”