Water companies must understand the anger and shoulder the burden for sewage costs - The Yorkshire Post says

If water firms thought they would get away with discharging sewage into the waterways of Britain with a minimal backlash then they were mistaken.

There is not a right thinking soul in this country that wants to see their rivers polluted, lakes become marked and beaches soil by sewage discharges.

However, water companies asking to raise customer bills by around £156 by 2030 to fix the issues seems immoral given the preceding years of generous bonuses for bosses and handsome payouts to shareholders.

The reality though is that there is an obvious issue that needs remedying quickly. And it won’t be solved cheaply. To expect the water companies to cover all the costs of updating the network, fixing leaks, reducing sewage overspills and ensuring a better service for customers would be naive. Therefore it is understandable that customers may be asked to pay a bit more.

In fact, a lot of people would readily pay a bit extra to ensure that their communities are not blighted by sewage overspills.

But times are also difficult and there are many who won’t be able to afford rises in their bills. Those people, who are amongst the most vulnerable in society, need to be supported by the water companies.

It also won’t do for water companies to carry on as they have been with payouts and bonuses.

And this is why the regulator now needs to step up and shrug off the idea that it is in hoc with the water companies. People in this region take pride in their communities. They don’t want to see beautiful green spaces unnecessarily concreted over. Neither do they want their rivers and beaches to be turned into sewage dumps.