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    ‘The sewage scandal ends now’: UK water company fines to be used to clean up rivers
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    ‘The sewage scandal ends now’: UK water company fines to be used to clean up rivers


    ‘The sewage scandal ends now’: UK water company fines to be used to clean up rivers

    https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2025/mar/09/the-sewage-scandal-ends-now-uk-water-company-fines-to-be-used-to-clean-up-rivers

    Posted by F0urLeafCl0ver

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    14 Comments

    1. earlycustard123 on

      Waste of time, the water companies just increase the annual price to pay the fine off. End result, it’s home owners/customers paying the fine, and can do absolutely nothing about it.

    3. GuyLookingForPorn on

      Its an awful situation but very happy with a lot of moves Labour are making on this.

      In addition to this they have also banned bosses from receiving bonuses if they fail to meet standards to protect the environment or customer finances, and now water companies trying to prevent or hold up regulator investigations is punishable by prison. 

      Water companies now also have to introduce independent monitoring of every single sewage outlet, with water companies required to publish real-time data for all emergency overflows. And any discharges will have to be reported within an hour of the initial spill.  

    4. donkey-rider69 on

      Until i actually see millions of fish going back into our rivers after the so-called clean ups, maybe then I’ll carry on paying water until then, they can suck my big toe

    5. ClassicFlavour on

      So they can continue not treating their waste, pay a fine and the infrastructure and effort to clean up the rivers is the responsibility of the government?

      Sounds like the water companies win here.

    6. Bardsie on

      No. The fines should be ON-TOP of what it costs to clean up the rivers.

      If the price of breaking the law is only what it would have cost to do the legal requirement in the first place, then that’s just an incentive to not spend money and hope you don’t get caught.

    7. Next_Drama1717 on

      Maybe stop them from dumping raw sewage into our rivers and oceans to start with?

    8. Species1139 on

      Let them go bankrupt, government take them back. Businesses fail all the time through mismanagement and misappropriation of funds. The government shouldn’t bail them out or allow them to recoup funds through ridiculous price rises. Fines won’t work, they’ll pass them on.

      Privatisation of essential infrastructure is a disaster. When profits rules, services suffer, people suffer.

      Time to end it.

    9. OrganizationLast7570 on

      ‘The sewage scandal ends now’ so that means they’re renationalising all the water companies with no compensation to shareholders then right?
      Otherwise it’s bollocks

    11. cornedbeef101 on

      Privatising water utilities was one of the dumbest things this country has done. It’s up there with Brexit in terms of causing harm to the populace for the benefit of the few.

    13. Capital-Wolverine532 on

      No. They should be fined AND made to pay for the clean up. They should also be restricted in putting prices up until such times as they can show 1 year without polluting.