Every day there seems to be a harrowing report in the national and regional papers about the awful state of our rivers and seas, so much so that you wonder why the Government does not take swifter action to put in place the new legislation, or to simply bring greater powers to the existing agencies such as OFWAT and the Environment Agency.
We really cannot wait forever – our waterways are the lifeblood of our country and not something that we can allow to die and wither due to the continued dumping of sewage and other contaminants on a daily basis.
Read: Bedford mayor says council is holding water regulators “to account” over River Great Ouse pollution
Looking at performance differences between privatised and non-privatised water companies, a research piece by one of our Trustees using AI showed that, overall, public or not-for-profit water companies such as Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales were performing better than any of the shareholder-owned companies in England.
In terms of financial costs, the public-sector-based Scottish Water and NI Water had much lower costs because they did not pay dividends and had lower debt levels. Welsh Water (not-for-profit) inherited liabilities that drove higher operating costs.
The research also showed that, in terms of leakage performance, public sector organisations significantly outperformed their privatised counterparts and met their targets.
The research suggests that 20% of treated water is lost annually and that OFWAT targets are regularly missed.
With regards to environmental and pollution performance, not surprisingly the private sector showed high levels of pollution incidents (those that have been reported) and frequent fines, with many of the water companies rated by the EA at 2 stars or below – meaning that Improvement measures are required.
Read: Anglian Water refuses to face questions over four-year Kempston leak losing 540 litres an hour
Scotland, by contrast, showed much more stable environmental performance, with fewer pollution incidents per kilometre of sewer.
Welsh Water, until recently, performed strongly in these areas, but storm overflow spills had increased.
And NI Water was deemed to have a mid to strong environmental performance, with lower pollution incidents than in England and Wales.
Complaints to water companies
A further measure reviewed was customer service and complaint handling.
Overall, Thames, Southern and Yorkshire Water had the worst complaint rates among private-sector companies, while public-sector and not-for-profit companies had lower complaint levels and scored higher on customer satisfaction.
Overall, the review showed that the Scottish and NI water companies had better operational outcomes with lower financing costs.
Read: MP demands answers from Anglian Water over persistent water leaks across Bedford Borough
Privatisation is per se not a bad thing, but when it is allowed to operate with little checks and balances, is able to obfuscate the real issues, and has little concern over the regulating bodies’ actions, it is easy to see why the state of our waterways and seas is in the newspapers every day.
The information above has not been qualified further, but for a quick review, it certainly shows that overall public sector ownership can mean a better deal for both customers (lower bills and greater customer satisfaction) and operators (more efficient operations and, most importantly, better environmental outcomes).
Nearer to home
In Bedford, we are trying to ascertain who is responsible for an outfall by the Star Rowing Club at Sovereign Quay in the centre of Bedford, discovered as part of our Outfall Safari work to plot and test all outfalls in the Bedfordshire stretch of the River Great Ouse – no mean feat.
Read: Mayor criticised over “flippant” river pollution comments on eve of festival
The outfall pipe is pumping out very high levels of E. coli, Phosphates, and Ammonia, and this will be discussed at the Bedford Water Partnership Meeting to be held shortly.
Our aim is to clearly understand who it belongs to and identify the sources of contamination.
Our August test results are out, so please take a look at them on our website. We also provide this information to all local parish councils.
Please do also let others know about these results; they provide important guidelines to help you stay safe if using the river.
By Inga Wells. Executive MBA, PG Dip DMS.
The Bedford Independent is proud to support BedsGOVET in their
vital work to monitor water quality in the River Great Ouse
and provide them with space for a column as
part of their Don’t Lose the Ouse campaign.
