Privatised greed has poisoned our rivers – it's time to take our water back

Imagine this: a company that leaks more than half a billion litres of drinking water a day, dumps sewage into rivers, and racks up billions in debt – yet rewards its CEO with a £190,000 bonus, taking the salary to £2.3 million. Welcome to the dystopian world of the UK’s privatised water industry.

Just weeks ago, a group of plucky citizens attempted to make a symbolic arrest of Thames Water executives. It may have seemed dramatic, but frankly, it was proportionate. What we’re witnessing isn’t just incompetence – it’s systemic failure wrapped in criminal negligence. When an industry’s behaviour warrants a prison sentence more than a bonus, you know something is deeply rotten.

Read more:

• It will take 700 years to replace UK’s ageing water network at current pace: ‘A wholesale betrayal’
• The sewage crisis is your fault: How water firms use same deceptive tactics as Big Oil and Big Tobacco
• Labour has vowed to cleaning up Windermere – but our fight for a sewage-free lake is not over

Let’s talk facts. Thames Water openly admits to losing an embarrassing amount of drinking water every single day through leaks. Simultaneously, the company warns that London could face catastrophic water shortages, costing the economy £500m a day. The same company has just been granted another £3 billion in debt and is now seeking another £4bn equity bailout, with customers left to foot the bill.

Last week, Thames Water admitted that senior managers were in line for “substantial” bonuses linked to the emergency £3bn loan. It has since withdrawn plans under government pressure – but the episode exposed how the privatised model continues to reward failure.

This is not just about broken pipes – it’s about a broken system. United Utilities recently reported that its reservoirs are at just 69% capacity just as we are warned of a looming drought after the driest spring on record. That’s not just a weather story. It’s the result of decades of underinvestment and deregulated greed. Since privatisation, water companies have paid out billions in dividends to shareholders while neglecting basic infrastructure upgrades and climate adaptation.

The impact is everywhere – not just in our wallets, but in our rivers, our bodies and our reputation as a nation. The River Thames, a global symbol of British heritage and the lifeblood of one of the world’s biggest financial centres, is now a hazardous zone. Swimmers, rowers and river users are getting sick. And while ordinary citizens face £1,000 fines for using a hosepipe during droughts, executives are rewarded for running the system into the ground.

This is moral bankruptcy.

The upcoming report from the Sir Jon Cunliffe’s Independent Water Commission presents a crucial opportunity to turn the tide against sewage pollution. The time for words is over – we need urgent action. The Commission must deliver bold recommendations that overhaul company finances and governance – replacing private greed with public benefit – to end the pollution-for-profit model, and re-equip regulators to hold polluters to account. Enforcing the law should not be an option. We need environmental police with teeth. Without decisive reform, promises of clean rivers will remain a pipe dream.

Let’s be clear: water is not a luxury commodity. It’s a basic human right and a critical natural resource. It should never have been handed to profit-driven monopolies. Everything from food production and industry to education and healthcare all thrive on healthy rivers. When we poison them, we poison our future.

This isn’t a radical position. It’s a rational one. People are waking up. From local campaigners to national environmental groups, from swimmers to MPs – outraged citizens and organisations will judge harshly a new government that fails to deliver. Now it’s time for the government to act, not with another bailout or weakly worded guidance, but with bold, structural reform.

It’s not enough to just end the bonuses to end the pollution. We need to end the privatisation. Water belongs to all of us. Let’s take it back.

James Wallace is the CEO of River Action.

Promises are easy to break. Sign Big Issue’s petition for a Poverty Zero law and help us make tackling poverty a legal requirement, not just a policy priority.

Do you have a story to tell or opinions to share about this? Get in touch and tell us more. Big Issue exists to give homeless and marginalised people the opportunity to earn an income. To support our work buy a copy of the magazine or get the app from the App Store or Google Play.