Fixing Britain’s sewers will be fantastically expensive

It isn’t going to help with the cost of living, but Ofwat’s decision to allow water companies to raise bills by an average of £157 (36 per cent) over the next five years is absolutely necessary. Yes, some companies like Thames Water have loaded themselves up with debt to pay their owners handsome dividends – and may yet go bust as a result. But looking overall at the UK water industry we have been underinvesting for decades. If we want to reliable water supply, and a wastewater treatment system which does not involve the routine dumping of sewage into rivers and the sea, we are going to have to pay for it.

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Look around Britain and you can find some impressive water infrastructure, from the Ladybower reservoir system in Derbyshire to the largely unseen sewers of London.