Campaigners want Thames Water fine spent on clean up

Water campaigners say they are delighted by the record breaking fine issued to Thames Water this week

Water quality campaigners say they are delighted at the record £122.7m fine handed to Thames Water, but have said only a complete overhaul of the industry can clean up the UK's rivers.

The company was hit with the fine by regulator Ofwat for repeatedly breaching rules over sewage spills and making payouts to shareholders when it is in dire financial straights.

Wiltshire-based Action for the River Kennett (Arc) said the sum must now be spent on reversing environmental damage caused by years of spills, adding that wastewater infrastructure in the area is in "a desperate state".

Thames Water said it takes its responsibility towards the environment "very seriously".

The River Kennett is a chalk stream that runs from Avebury down to Reading where it joins the River Thames.

Arc runs a nature reserve in the area for outreach work and children's education days, which is frequently flooded with sewage.

It flows from nearby treatment works and also regularly spills out of manhole covers, Arc said.

Charlotte Hitchmough, Arc's director, told BBC Wiltshire: "I hope that these fines from the water companies are ring fenced to undo the environmental damage that's been caused - because Ofwat were clear that the lion's share of that fine was for failure to treat sewage properly."

Charlotte Hitchmough said the River Kennet is often thick with sewage

But she warned that as it stands, wastewater infrastructure in the area operated by Thames Water is in "a desperate state".

She said the use of emergency measures such as tankers to ferry sewage to treatment works, or temporary treatment units to pump water directly out of sewers for cleaning, were "completely unsustainable".

"This isn't the behaviour of a responsible, well run company. This is desperate fire fighting," she said.

James Wallace said privatisation of water companies is a "failed experiment"

James Wallace, chief executive of campaign group River Action, said it was good to see the government enforcing sewage laws, but pointed out the fine is only a tiny fraction of Thames Water's £22bn debt.

He called on the government to put the company "out of its misery" and revoke its licence to operate.

Mr Wallace said the government had a number of mechanisms at its disposal to bring Thames Water under its direct control, such as placing it in special measures.

Ultimately he wants to see an end to the privatisation of the water industry.

"We know that the privatisation experiment since 1989 has failed abjectly because of all the pollution and all of these debts that have accrued," he said.

Mr Wallace said there were numerous models for running water companies such as nationalisation, placing them under the control of local authorities, or turning them into not-for-profit entities.

"What we need to do is take action," he said.

The River Kennet runs from Avebury to Reading where it joins the Thames

Speaking earlier this year, Environment Secretary Steve Reed agreed that the water sector in England and Wales "urgently needs fixing".

But he ruled out nationalisation, saying it would cost up to £100bn, adding that waterways would continue to be polluted while private ownership structures were unpicked.

Instead, the government wants private investment to upgrade the sewerage system and reservoirs.

Following the Thames Water fine on Wednesday, Mr Reed added: "The government has launched the toughest crackdown on water companies in history.

"The era of profiting from failure is over. The government is cleaning up our rivers, lakes and seas for good."

'Already made progress'

A Thames Water spokesperson said: "We take our responsibility towards the environment very seriously and note that Ofwat acknowledges we have already made progress to address issues raised in the investigation relating to storm overflows.

"The dividends were declared following a consideration of the Company's legal and regulatory obligations.

"Our lenders continue to support our liquidity position and our equity raise process continues."