For customers of #SouthWestWater, this will come as no surprise, but in the two years to March 2022, SWW spent more on interest payments & #dividends than it did on maintaining (improving) its infrastructure....

You can decide for yourself whether this in any way contributed to their catastrophic failure of #water supply early this year.

That this included a 'special dividend' approved by #OfWat merely confirms that the regulator(s) have been asleep at the wheel.

Ofwat boss denies water industry badly regulated as he predicts higher bills | Water industry | The Guardian

He then goes on to describe a poorly regulated industry with a regulator who neither had, nor sought, appropriate powers to regulate effectively until it was far too late 🤷‍♂️
Now he wants us to trust they and their industry partners will do better in the future...
Oh, here's a big increase in your water bills, enjoy
#Ofwat #WaterQuality #WaterPrivatisation
https://www.theguardian.com/business/2023/jul/05/ofwat-boss-denies-water-industry-badly-regulated-as-he-predicts-higher-bills

No-one will be surprised that three quarters of #water companies have executives who previously worked for #OfWat... this sort of revolving door/co-option is pretty common in regulated industries.

It may or may not be the cause of #OfWat being asleep at the wheel, but clearly signals a worryingly close relationship between water from & their regulator.

The key reason to hire them is that they know how the system works & how to 'game' it... & the result is the #watercrisis & #sewage everywhere

"Two-thirds of England’s biggest water companies employ key executives who had previously worked at the watchdog tasked with regulating them.
Cathryn Ross, the new interim joint chief executive of Thames Water & a former head of watchdog Ofwat, is one of several ex-employees working for water companies in senior roles such as strategy, regulation & infrastructure"

The revolving door goes round and round. No wonder #OfWat is asleep on the job.
#Grift #Water #UKPolitics

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2023/jul/01/exclusive-uk-water-giants-recruit-top-staff-from-regulator-ofwat

@ChrisMayLA6 well it not like #OfWat is doing a great job! Even in the eyes of its creators who I believe created it to protect the privatised model rather than the consumer or environment. It has managed to be so hands off and weak that the whole model is under threat or at least should be.
Still not sure allow Water Companies to mark their own homework would be a big step forward. We would have to have some reason to trust them first!

Here's two charts (from the Guardian) that some up rentier #capitalism, #ThamesWater style....

borrow money, use it to pay #investors, try to ensure the minimum levels of actual investment (that you can fool #OfWat with) is covered by users/customers bills... & when the house of cards comes tumbling down, walk away leaving the state to pick up the pieces.

Yup, its #socialism for the rich but 'capitalism' for the rest of us....

#ThamesWater could delay accounts as turmoil in #WaterIndustry grows

Firm refuses to say when it will publish annual report; pressure builds on regulator #Ofwat
https://www.theguardian.com/business/2023/jun/29/thames-water-could-delay-accounts-as-turmoil-in-water-industry-grows #ToryPoliciesInAction #SewageScandal

Ofwat is a shining example of all that is wrong with privitised utilities and their alleged regulators.

Pretty much everyone knows #Macquarie as the Vampire Bank, yet good old #Ofwat approved them to buy #Southern Water in 2021 after their stellar performance at #Thames! I imagine they were quaking in their Designer Crocodile Boots at Ofwats warnings to behave.

What went wrong at Thames Water and what could a bailout look like? | Utilities | The Guardian
https://www.theguardian.com/business/2023/jun/28/what-went-wrong-at-thames-water-and-what-could-a-bailout-look-like

Contingency plans being drawn up for Thames Water collapse | Utilities | The Guardian
https://www.theguardian.com/business/2023/jun/28/contingency-plans-reportedly-being-drawn-up-for-thames-water-collapse

#ThamesWater
#ThamesWaterCollapse
#Debt
#Water
#WaterCompanies
#PublicOwnership
#OFWAT
#Hunt

@StephanieJane

One might say that #OfWat have been asleep at the wheel or perhaps more realistically, were set up to fail

Water companies feel the heat as commercial bans loom in dry summer | Water | The Guardian
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2023/jun/17/water-companies-feel-the-heat-as-commercial-bans-loom-in-dry-summer

#Water
#WaterShortages
#Sewage
#NationalDroughtGroup
#SouthWestWater
#HosePipeBans
#NonEssentialUseBan
#OFWAT

Hash tag list:
#WaterCompanies
#Sewage
#Ofwat
#CEOsBonuses

Raw sewage dumping authorised in environment secretary Therese Coffey’s own constituency | The Independent.
Hash tag list:
#Sewage
#Coffey
#Tories
#Eustice
#Leadsom
#Gove
#Farron
#CleanWaterPlan
#Sunak
#BlueFlag
#Ofwat
#TorySewageParty
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/sewage-dumping-therese-coffey-b2315522.html

Q. given the current data (prevalence. posted) on #sewage 'spills', how many fines for breaking 1994 rules on wastewater breaches has #Ofwat issued?

A. ONE!!!!

Southern Water were fined in 2019, but other than that 'spills' have either not been investigated or have been found not to have breached the rules....

Yup, the privatisation of #water has been a great success....

h/t FT

Bit late, but nevertheless, very welcome.
Water firms to invest £1.6bn in improvements, says #Ofwat
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2023/apr/03/water-firms-invest-improvements-ofwat?CMP=Share_AndroidApp_Other

“Unparalleled negligence’ by water companies continues to create consequences” #ofwat #sewage #rivers #riverpollution #pollution
https://yorkshirebylines.co.uk/news/environment/raw-sewage-discharged-into-english-rivers-more-than-300000-times-in-2022/

Link to #OFWAT here for how to access the water company meetings.

https://www.ofwat.gov.uk/regulated-companies/price-review/2024-price-review/your-water-your-say/

2023 is a massive year for the environment and everyone in England has a chance to help shape billions of pounds of investment in nature recovery. They just might not know it yet, so this RSPB blog is here to encourage members, their friends and families to take part.

#Water #Rivers #Sewage #WaterCompanies #UKPolitics #Environment #RSPB #PeoplesPlanForNature #OFWAT

https://community.rspb.org.uk/ourwork/b/rspb-england/posts/water?utm_source=campaigns_update_mar22&utm_medium=email&utm_term=&utm_content=25&utm_campaign=

"The south-east of England is permanently threatened by water shortages. A shocking lack of planning and investment by the water companies...ensure that as drought looms again the stupidest of all solutions begins to look attractive...Thames Water wants to pipe huge volumes across the country from another catchment: the Severn"

George Monbiot's article on the dreadful implications of this batshit scheme.
#Water #Rivers #WaterPrivatisation #UKPolitics #Environment #OFWAT

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2023/mar/23/h20-scheme-water-severn-thames-hs2-england

Why not cut dividends?
Ending sewage dumping will mean higher water bills - report
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-65028971
#SewageDumping #OFWAT #Pollution