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Water firms' bonuses hit £9.1m despite sewage spills

The Guardian

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October 21, 2024

Bonuses for water company bosses in England and Wales rose to £9.1m this year despite record sewage discharges into rivers and seas.

- Helena Horton

Water firms' bonuses hit £9.1m despite sewage spills

More than a third of that total was from bonuses at Severn Trent, which was fined £2m this year for "reckless" pollution but increased its bonuses to £3.36m. Thames Water almost doubled its payouts to executives, from £746,000 in 2021-22 to £1.3m in 2023-24, despite its CEO quitting halfway through the year.

Data from Companies House, analysed by the Liberal Democrats, shows that overall bonuses rose from £9.013m last year to £9.127m this year.

The payouts pile further pressure on the regulator, Ofwat, to intervene in the decisions of water company boards. Last year, raw sewage was discharged for more than 3.6m hours into rivers and seas, a 105% increase on the previous 12 months.

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