(Bloomberg) — Six English water companies will spend a total £180 million ($231 million) to cut thousands of sewage spills, but Thames Water Ltd., the largest and one of the worst offenders, isn’t one of them.
New funding from Anglian Water Services Ltd., Severn Trent Plc, Southern Water Ltd., South West Water Ltd., United Utilities Group Plc and Wessex Water Services Ltd. is expected to result in 8,000 fewer sewage spills in the next 12 months, according to a statement from the environment department, known as Defra, released Monday.
Environment Secretary Steve Barclay has been urging sewage companies to accelerate plans to reduce storm overflows, which are supposed to only release excess sewage into water ways when the system is under strain. Still, overflows regularly happen because of poor maintenance. That has caused public anger, with critics blaming water companies for decades of underinvestment.
“The amount of sewage being spilled into our rivers is completely unacceptable and the public rightly expects action,” Barclay said, according to the statement.
In January, Barclay threatened chief executives that he would halt dividend payments to companies that were illegally spilling sewage. However, that plan was blocked by the Treasury after an outcry from executives who warned the move would stymie investment.
Read more: Treasury Blocks Sewage Dividend Ban After Water CEO Outcry
The new funding will pay for additional sewage monitors as well as artificial intelligence to manage storm load. Northumbrian Water Group Ltd. previously announced it would invest an additional £29.8 million this year to accelerate its spill reduction program, and Yorkshire Water Services Ltd. said it would invest £99 million.
Thames Water hasn’t been able to meet government demands to further accelerate its plans. It said in a statement “we regard any untreated discharges as unacceptable, and are committed to stopping them from being necessary.”
The heavily indebted utility doesn’t yet have backing from its shareholders to deliver on its latest turnaround plan. Its parent company has promised to inject £750 million within the next year, but only if regulator Ofwat approves Thames’s 2025 to 2030 business plan, which would see customer bills increase by as much as 40%.
Thames is also waiting for a verdict on whether it broke regulations by paying millions of pounds to its parents company last year. A ruling against the company may mean more fines or, at worst, push it into administration. It is also subject to a separate probe by the regulator — and a criminal investigation by the Environment Agency — over sewage spills.
A spokeswoman for Thames declined to comment.
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