The new UK Environment Secretary, Steve Reed, has announced a comprehensive plan to address severe river pollution caused by illegal sewage dumping. Reed emphasized that water company executives who persistently engage in illegal sewage disposal will face criminal charges and be stripped of their bonuses. An investigation revealed that water companies across England potentially broke the law thousands of times last year by dumping sewage without the legally required permits, with over 5,500 illegal spills reported. In 2023, water companies dumped raw sewage into waterways 464,056 times, with 5,591 of these dumps potentially illegal. Labour has backed an £88 billion plan to end river pollution, which includes the largest-ever investment to fix the broken water system, aiming to boost economic growth and create thousands of jobs. Reed also highlighted the need to remove the profit motive from the water sector to ensure meaningful change, criticizing the 'puny fines' that have been ineffective.
