Tougher penalties and fines on water companies will be reinvested
back into a new Water Restoration Fund, Environment Secretary
Thérèse Coffey is expected to announce next
week, making polluters pay for damage they cause to the
environment. This fund will deliver on-the-ground improvements to
water quality and support local groups and community-led schemes
which help to protect our waterways.
It will form part of a new Plan for Water, to be published
shortly, which will map out the government’s action plan for
tackling pollution, boosting water supplies, driving up
performance and toughening up enforcement against companies who
fail to deliver improvements.
The fund will help local groups – bringing together local NGOs,
councils, farmers and others – to identify the biggest issues and
direct investment to where it is most needed to improve our
rivers, lakes and streams.
It will support projects to look after our water environment,
improve management of our waters and restore protected sites.
These could include restoring wetlands, creating new habitats in
important nature sites, tackling invasive non-native species and
‘rewiggling’ rivers – adding natural bends to improve water
quality and biodiversity.
The Environment Secretary is also expected to publish a six-week
consultation on strengthening the Environment Agency’s ability to
impose sanctions on water companies without going through the
courts.
The consultation sets out the government’s preferred option for
lifting the upper cap on civil penalties on water companies,
allowing unlimited fines. These penalties will
be quicker and easier to enforce although the most serious cases
will still be taken through criminal
proceedings.
The Plan for Water will include measures on every source of
pollution – storm overflows, agriculture, plastics, road run-off
and chemicals and pesticides – as well as managing the pressures
on our water supply.
Environment Secretary Thérèse Coffey
said:
“I know how important our beautiful rivers, lakes, streams
and coastlines are for people and nature – and I couldn’t agree
more than more needs to be done to protect
them.
“I want to make sure that regulators have the powers and
tools to take tough action against companies that are breaking
the rules and to do so more quickly.
“Through the Water Restoration Fund, I will be making sure
that money from higher fines and penalties – taken from water
company profits, not customers - is channelled directly back into
the rivers, lakes and streams where it is needed. We know that
around 310 miles of rivers each year have been improved through
community-led projects - we must build on that
success.”
Further detail on how the Water Restoration Fund will be managed
will be set out in due course.
Since 2015 the Environment Agency has secured fines of over £144
million, including £90 million from a fine imposed on Southern
Water in 2021.
ENDS
Notes to
editors
- At present, penalties and fines imposed by Ofwat for
environmental harm are returned to the Treasury. Under these
plans the funds will be returned to Defra and, through the Water
Restoration Fund, be invested into water quality improvement
projects.
- All penalties and fines will be taken from water company
profits, not customers.
