By Professor John Robertson

Today, in the Guardian, we see:

Thames Water has sent samples of water for lab testing after dozens of people reported becoming unwell with stomach cramps, vomiting and diarrhoea in south-east London. Earlier this month, unsafe drinking water led to more than 100 cases of a waterborne disease in Devon, with people asked to boil their water because of contamination fears.

After cryptosporidium, a disease that can cause symptoms such as diarrhoea and vomiting, was detected in the water supply in the Brixham area of Devon 10 days ago, 17,000 households and businesses were told by South West Water not to use their tap water for drinking without boiling and cooling it first.

Now residents in Beckenham have reported being struck by a stomach bug which is causing days of vomiting and diarrhoea. They include a four-year-old boy suffering days of vomiting, and an adult woman who was so unwell she went to hospital with stomach pain, vomiting and dehydration.

Only a few weeks earlier, the BBC reported of millions of litres of untreated sewage illegally pumped into the beautiful Lake Windermere. BBC Cumbria reported that the firm responsible, United Utilities did not monitor the volume of untreated sewage they pumped into the lake! The following day they paid out £340 million to investors and we read that their CE gets a base (sic) salary of £690 000 and a bonus of up to £900 000. [i]

Two weeks ago, a Swale Dale farmer, was furious after contaminated floodwater killed 30 of his sheep.[ii] Yorkshire Water’s boss didn’t take her £800 000 bonus last year due to ‘public anger over sewage in rivers’. [iii]

In March, the Oxford boat race team claimed their defeat was, in part, due to sickness caused by ‘poo in the water’. E-coli bacteria had been found in the water before the race, yet the Cambridge cox was ceremonially chucked in the river Thames after victory. Thames Water is in crisis, seeking a massive Government bailout, deeply ironic in the context of a boat race. Thames Water typically pays its CE’s £750 000 per year plus bonuses and ‘golden hellos’, in the millions. [iv]

Surely the incoming Labour government will save the good folk of England from diarrhoea and poo in the water?

In 2023, Shadow Chancellor Rachel Reeves confirmed that nationalising water companies was ‘no longer on the agenda.’[v] Sir Keir Starmer is saying nothing, again.

Scotland too can have problems with water. Sometimes flood drains overflow when rainfall is too heavy for them to cope, and untreated sewage does end up in rivers and the sea. Not all overflows are monitored. However, try searching for evidence of poisoning from Scotland’s water supplies and you will find only ‘potentially toxic forever chemicals’, traces of human medicines such as ibuprofen, an ‘oily taste’ in the water of Uist and Benbecula, last year, and one case, still unresolved from 2009 of cattle poisoning in Stornoway. [vi]

How is this possible?

Scottish Water has always been under state-control. It pays moderate salaries and bonuses and no shareholder dividends. According to SEPA in 2024, 98% of Scotland’s bathing waters are safe to swim in [vii] and 99% of drinking water samples pass all tests. [viii]

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[i] https://www.thisismoney.co.uk/money/markets/article-13427025/Another-stink-United-Utilities-Water-giant-pays-340m-dividend-Windermere-sewage-scandal.html

[ii] https://www.thescottishfarmer.co.uk/news/24299224.farmer-lost-30-sheep-suspected-river-swale-poisoning/

[iii] https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2023/jun/11/yorkshire-water-bosss-decision-to-forgo-bonus-labelled-hollow-by-union#:~:text=So%2C%20on%20behalf%20of%20Yorkshire,of%20her%20%C2%A3574%2C000%20salary.

[iv] https://www.ft.com/content/279eede4-01f3-4189-aca9-2904e07e9eaa

[v] https://inews.co.uk/news/politics/labour-reverses-pledge-nationalise-energy-water-mail-general-election-2194125

[vi] https://www.thescottishfarmer.co.uk/news/24109632.cattle-poisoning-case-returns-scottish-high-court/

[vii] https://media.sepa.org.uk/media-releases/2023/98-of-scottish-bathing-waters-continue-to-meet-strict-environmental-standards/

[viii] https://www.scottishwater.co.uk/-/media/ScottishWater/Document-Hub/Factsheets-and-Leaflets/Factsheets/021122SWWaterQuality2022.pdf