Water company bonuses rise this year despite sewage scandal

EMBARGO: 22:30 Sunday 20th October

• Shocking research finds water company executives paid themselves more in bonuses and pensions this year
• England and Wales water firms hand out £9.1million in bonuses to executives this year
• Thames Water, Severn Trent and South West Water worst offenders for paying executives even more in bonuses this year
• Liberal Democrats call for immediate ban on water company bonuses 

Shocking new research by the Liberal Democrats has revealed water company executive bonuses have risen to £9.1m in 2023/2024. 

The bosses of disgraced firms received over £20m in total, including basic pay, pension contributions and bonuses. 

The party’s annual Sewage Bonus Tracker using analysis of Company House records, found water firms including Thames Water, Severn Trent and South West Water all increased their bonus pool for executives, despite polluting waterways with raw sewage. 

The new findings come despite 2023 being a record year for the amount of sewage dumped into waterways, with Environment Agency data revealing more than 3.6m hours of sewage flowed into rivers and seas, up a staggering 105% annually. 

Thames Water bonus payouts to executives almost double year-on-year, from £746,000 in 2022/2023 to a staggering £1.3m 2023/2024. This is despite Thames Water’s CEO quitting halfway through the year following financial issues.

The biggest bonus payout for executives was by Severn Trent, who paid their 3 executives an eye-watering £3.3million in bonuses, an increase year-on-year. 

Pension contributions for water company executives rose to a new high of £1.7m this year. Thames Water paid their executives £754,000 in pension contributions alone last year. 

Base pay for water company executives also remained at over £9m last year, with just one executive at Northumbrian Water paying themselves £421,000.

The Liberal Democrats have called for an immediate ban on all water company bonuses whilst the sewage scandal continues. The party will push for a parliamentary vote for an outright ban on bonuses by tabling an amendment to the government’s Water (Special Measures) Bill. 

Liberal Democrat Environment spokesperson Tim Farron MP said: 

“It is a national scandal that these bonuses are being paid out by firms who disgustingly pollute rivers, lakes and beaches. These executives are pocketing more every year whilst sewage levels rise. Frankly, the whole thing stinks. 

“The last Conservative government shamefully let these disgraced firms get away with it, and now the new government has to step up.

“These bonuses are an insult to the British public and must be banned straight away. The Liberal Democrats will push for a vote in Parliament to ban these bonuses whilst sewage continues to flow.”

ENDS