Water Commission interim report: Helen Maguire MP says cleaning up water industry will “take more than a hose down” as Thames Water pumps almost 300,000 hours of sewage

Liberal Democrat MP Helen Maguire is urging the Government to finally scrap Ofwat and replace it with a new regulator with the power to hold polluting water companies accountable.

This comes after an interim report from Sir Jon Cuncliffe’s Water Commission was released this week arguing that the water industry needs a “fundamental reset”. The full report is expected ‘later this summer’.

Latest figures from the Government show that last year, Thames Water pumped 298,081 hours worth of sewage into waterways, according to new data published today. 

In Epsom & Ewell, residents are increasingly concerned about the spoiling of Hogsmill and River Mole - where unacceptable levels of phosphate and nitrates have been found as a result of consistent raw sewage pumping.

The Liberal Democrats are calling for the government to replace Ofwat with a new regulator, a Clean Water Authority, with proper enforcement powers to hold water companies to account and put a stop to the sewage scandal. Helen Maguire echoed these calls during a recent Liberal Democrat opposition day debate in Parliament, where she highlighted the threat Thames Water’s polluting is having on local wildlife.

Following the news that KKR has pulled out of plans to buy Thames Water, Liberal Democrats are continuing to urge the government to put the troubled company into special administration to protect customers from the mounting debt.

Helen Maguire, Lib Dem MP for Epsom & Ewell said: 

“It's going to take more than a hose down to clean up the UK’s failing water industry. Ofwat must be scrapped and replaced with a new regulator with teeth, and the Commission must now make this plain.

“This report makes it painfully clear that water companies like Thames Water are allowed to pollute and make profit with impunity, all whilst ramping up water bills for my constituents in Epsom & Ewell. At the heart of the raw sewage scandal is a regulatory system which has failed.

“Thames Water’s failed takeover is further proof of what happens when you continue to throw good money after bad, ramp up unacceptable debt and fail to take responsibility. It’s time the Government recognise this and place Thames Water into special administration immediately.

“Liberal Democrats across Surrey will continue to campaign hard to protect the Hogsmill and River Mole and in Parliament I’ll keep fighting for much tougher regulation of a water industry which is profiting from pollution.”