Bonus bonanza for water watchdog staff who fail to stop sewage dump in UK

12 September 2023 , 16:23

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Our waterways are becoming polluted with raw sewage (Image: Alamy Stock Photo)

Nearly 300 staff at the water watchdog pocketed bonuses last year despite the state of the nation’s rivers and coastlines.

Ofwat bigwigs got up to an extra £10,000 each for doing their jobs. Yet the quango has been branded “pointless” for failing to prevent water companies dumping sewage in rivers in England and Wales. Figures released this month show staff at Ofwat, which has the job of regulating the private water companies, shared bonus payments totalling £106,702 last year.

The money, some of which was paid as gift vouchers, was divided up amongst 298 employees, the largest number of staff to share bonus payments in the past six years. Nick Measham, chief executive of the charity WildFish, said: “You only have check the state of our rivers to see no bonuses can possibly be justified, unless you are rewarding failure.

“Our rivers are polluted with raw sewage because Ofwat hasn’t forced the water companies to invest in sufficient capacity to treat the sewage rather than just dumping it.” Earlier this summer, ministers were forced to weigh up contingency plans for the possible collapse of debt-laden Thames Water.

Ofwat CEO David Black (PA)

A report by the House of Commons Environmental Audit Committee into the nation’s river water quality said: “Public confidence in the regulatory structure is understandably low.” The committee said Ofwat had placed “insufficient emphasis” on forcing water companies to invest in the nation’s sewerage systems.

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Two senior directors at Ofwat – Claire Forbes and Aileen Armstrong – received £10,000 bonus payments. CEO David Black, who is paid £160,000 a year, did not receive a bonus this year. In Ofwat’s annual report, he said “there were still many areas where more needs to be done”. Ofwat said: “The process of awarding performance-related bonuses is independently overseen.”

Graham Hiscott