Govt announces new measures for water companies

Responding to the news that the government will bring in harsher penalties for polluting water companies, as part of its forthcoming Water (Special Measures) Bill, Paul de Zylva, nature campaigner at Friends of the Earth, said:

"Water companies are partially to blame for the dire state of our rivers and seas, but sewage spills aren't solely the problem. The government must also outline how it intends to tackle pollution from all number of sources that are impacting UK waters - including run-off from farms, roads and our homes, pharmaceuticals, and chemicals and consumer products.

"And unless the Environment Agency is properly funded so that it can effectively monitor water quality and hold all polluters to account, these measures alone won't deliver the scale of change required to get us back on track to meeting our water restoration and nature targets. 

"Empowering the environmental regulator to do its job must come alongside the introduction of a new Environmental Rights Act, enshrining the right to a healthy environment in law. This would ensure communities blighted by pollution can better hold public bodies and regulators to account."

ENDS