Sewage overflows ‘not good enough’, boss of North West water supplier says
The chief executive of United Utilities said pollution incidents were not something that could be fixed ‘instantly’.
The water firm behind historic sewage spills in the UK’s Lake Windermere has said issues cannot be fixed “instantly”, as heavy rainfall and storms in the North West of England have driven more flooding incidents.
The chief executive of United Utilities also said she was “alive to the issues of trust and transparency” in the water sector after receiving a £1.4 million pay packet last year.
United Utilities was the latest supplier to face questioning by a group of MPs on the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee.
Last year, the company was accused of failing to report more than 100 million litres of untreated sewage that it illegally dumped into Windermere over a three-year period.
Chief executive Louise Beardmore said that the company needed to rebuild trust in the North West after the scandal, and following an increase in pollution incidents last year.
“It is heartbreaking… I am very clear about the need to improve in this area,” she told the committee.
“It is not something we’re going to be able to fix instantly.
“It is a serious of infrastructure programmes… and at the same time, we’re going to have to look more long term about how we react to the impacts of climate change, particularly in some of the hot-spots in the North West.”
Ms Beardmore added: “Our performance isn’t good enough… we have one of the highest rates of internal sewer flooding across the country.”
This is partly due to a higher level of rainfall in the region last year leading to more major storms and flash flooding, and a greater number of power cuts.
She said the company had “fast-tracked” a programme to rebuild all of the wastewater treatment works around Lake Windermere and improve the water quality.
United Utilities is set to increase consumer bills by 32% over the coming five years, which will help pay for a £13.7 billion investment plan in the wider region between 2025 and 2030.
The boss took home a pay packet of £1.4 million last year, made up of a base salary worth £690,000, plus benefits, bonuses and long-term share awards.
Asked by MPs to justify the bonuses, Ms Beardmore said: “Shareholders are entirely paying for that so it’s not passed onto customers int terms of customer bills.”
“I think we’re all very alive to the issue of remuneration and trust in the sector and the changes that need to follow,” she added.
