Water company bosses could face up to two years in prison due to new powers in force today, Friday 25 April 2025.
The new powers, delivered by the Government’s landmark Water (Special Measures) Act 2025, mean water executives who cover up or hide illegal sewage spills can now be locked up.
No prison sentences have been handed to water executives since privatisation despite widespread illegal sewage discharges into rivers, lakes and seas. Defra says these new, tougher penalties are essential because some water companies have obstructed investigations, failing to hand over vital evidence related to illegal sewage discharges. This has prevented crackdowns against law-breaking water companies.
The new measures deliver on the Government’s promise to bring tougher criminal charges against lawbreakers in the water industry. As part of the Government’s Plan for Change, the threat of imprisonment should act as a powerful deterrent as water companies invest in upgrading broken water infrastructure and clean up our rivers, lakes and seas for good.
Environment Secretary Steve Reed said:
“Bosses must face consequences if they commit crimes. There must be accountability. From today, there will be no more hiding places. As part of the Plan for Change, water companies must now focus on cleaning up our rivers, lakes and seas for good.”
In addition, new powers will mean that the polluters will pay for the cost of criminal investigations into wrongdoing. Authorities will now recover the costs of their enforcement activity, with the Environment Agency currently consulting on how they will use the powers.
The payment of bonuses to water bosses will also be banned if they fail to meet high standards to protect the environment, their consumers, and their company’s finances.
Philip Duffy, Chief Executive of the Environment Agency said:
“The Water (Special Measures) Act was a crucial step in making sure water companies take full responsibility for their impact on the environment.
“The tougher powers we have gained though this legislation will allow us, as the regulator, to close the justice gap, deliver swifter enforcement action and ultimately deter illegal activity.
“Alongside this, we’re modernising and expanding our approach to water company inspections – and it’s working. More people, powers, better data and inspections are yielding vital evidence so that we can reduce sewage pollution, hold water companies to account and protect the environment.”
The Government says it will continue to reform the water sector in order to clean up our rivers, lakes and seas once and for all.
Alongside this, £104 billion of private sector investment has been secured to upgrade and build new water infrastructure across the country, supporting the building of 1.5 million new homes, creating thousands of jobs and powering new industries such as gigafactories and data centres as part of the government’s Plan for Change.
