Water firm bosses slammed after sewage spills hit five-year high

WATER bosses were blasted last night after sewage spills hit a five-year high.

A damning report by the Environment Agency identified a total of 2,174 pollution incidents — 1,902 of them involving sewage.

PA

Water firms have been blasted after sewage spills hit a five-year high[/caption]

Alamy

Thames Water was one of the four firms responsible for 90 per cent of 47 ‘serious incidents’ in the last five years[/caption]

There were 47 “serious incidents” deemed harmful to people and the environment, with 90 per cent of these down to four companies — Anglian, Southern, Thames and Yorkshire.

Yet each still wants to hike bills to help fund investment in their leaky pipes and overflows.

Environment Agency chair Alan Lovell branded the situation “unacceptable”.

He said: “My over-riding sense is of frustration and disappointment.

“The results we see are, yet again, simply not good enough.”

However, the environment watchdogs also took flack for awarding four stars to Severn Trent — despite it being fined £2million in February for allowing sewage to be discharged into the River Trent.

United Utilities also got the top mark, despite a massive sewage spill into Lake Windermere.

Meanwhile yesterday an oil spill left at least 20 swans in distress on the River Kennet in Reading, Berks, near where it joins the Thames.

A clean-up was underway.