First we had “Build houses now, fix pollution later” which has particular resonance in East Devon, now no one is sure how many “illegal” sewage discharges are needed before triggering a criminal investigation of a water company’.

Was Feargal Sharkey jumping the gun when he endorsed Helen Dallimore’s (Labour) candidacy for Exmouth & Exeter East, given the proven record of local Lib Dem Richard Foord? – Owl

PS Labour’s consultation on housing development is seeking Exeter to increase its housing target by 26.9%, East Devon by 28.3%, Mid Devon by 65% and Teignbridge by 48.7%. When and where will South West Water provide the necessary increase in sewage treatment infrastructure capacity?

Water firm bosses to face criminal charges over ‘persistent’ sewage dumping – the most boring and weak announcement from Steve Reed

Steve Reed has confirmed that water bosses will face criminal charges over sewage dumping – the most boring and disappointing announcement to date.

Isabella Boneham www.nationalworld.com 

To make matters worse, Reed said that water bosses will face criminal charges over “persistent” and “severe levels of illegal sewage dumping”. So is it okay if they do it now and again? It is okay if a water firm dumps huge amounts of sewage but then doesn’t do it again for a while?

Victoria Derbyshire pressed on this yesterday (Sunday 28 July) during an interview with Reed and he wasn’t able to answer how many times they are able to illegally discharge sewage until they get charged. It is tiring hearing politicians time and time again making promises about toughening up on the water industry, yet coming out with ambiguous plans that do not seem to be a harsh crackdown at all.

Reed would not say what level of sewage dumping it would take for charges to be brought and that is worrying. It will be interesting to see what his meaning of “persistent” is – and how much sewage will have to be dumped on UK rivers and beaches before they decide to enforce a criminal charge. Water firms should be held accountable every time they dump sewage illegally.

Reed also said that Labour will “ban their multimillion pound bonuses while they are overseeing these failures” – so their ludicrous bonuses can continue, again, if the water firm only discharges sewage now and then?

The ludicrous bonuses should be stopped completely. The government should renationalise the water industry and put it back under the power of the people and public ownership. Here Reed is letting the mega rich off the hook – it is disappointing and angering.

Water firms have already been fined thousands for pollution incidents and yet sewage dumping continues. Fines haven’t worked. A criminal charge after “persistent” sewage dumping also is not going to work, and the scandal will continue.

Mr Reed also said Thames Water wouldn’t be re-nationalised. There is no tough stance on the water industry. If a water firm is inevitably collapsing due to their own financial mismanagement, the customer’s shouldn’t have to pay, their bills should not have to go up – instead the firm should be taken into public ownership without any shareholder buy-out costs.

All words, no action and ambiguous statements. It is disappointing, but not surprising. Levels of sewage dumping will have to get to the point of “persistent” for a water firm to face a criminal charge and that means we will all continue to see the joys of more raw waste flushed into our waterways. A good start Mr Reed.