Whitstable fears report into water industry won't help stop pollution

KentOnline / KMTV

The decision to scrap the regulator Ofwat is one of 88 recommendations laid out in the report, but action groups worry that any changes won't have a positive impact.  Finn Macdiarmid reports.

Transcript

00:00Kent's coastline has had pollution problems for as long as many can remember, and with

00:04sewage discharges now a regular occurrence not just in the county but across the country,

00:09the government have decided to scrap the water regulator.

00:12This comes after a report into the industry that laid out 88 recommendations for the government

00:16to improve the system.

00:19One place where locals admit improvement is needed is in Whitstable, which sees frequent

00:23sewage discharges into its waters, and local politicians say keeping the industry private

00:27isn't a step in the right direction.

00:30They're not addressing the real issue, and of those 88 recommendations, there's not one

00:35recommendation which looks at bringing the water industry back into public ownership, which

00:40I think is the key here. We can't have, we can't expect the water industry to take into

00:49account local interests of people wherever they live around the country and here in Whitstable

00:57then the key aims of these companies is to make profits for shareholders.

01:02And as the government decide which of these 88 recommendations they're going to take on

01:05board, here in Kent a pollution risk forecast has actually been issued for multiple beaches

01:10across the county, one of them being here in Tankerton, just near Whitstable. There are

01:15also warnings at Hearn Bay, Deal Castle, Dim Church, Little Stone and multiple beaches in

01:20the Thanet area.

01:21So while the government discusses the water report, here in Kent we are actually seeing some

01:26of the negative effects of the water system.

01:28National campaign group Surfers Against Sewage said the report and its recommendations were

01:32like putting lipstick on a pig.

01:34The report doesn't really suggest concrete moods. A great example is they made a recommendation

01:40that the government suggests to water companies that they incorporate a measure to work in the

01:46interests of the public and public health in their articles of association. However, this

01:52would be something maintained alongside their financial duty they have to their shareholders.

01:56According to the Environment Secretary Steve Reid, the government will abolish of what in

02:01the biggest overhaul of water regulation in a generation, we will bring water functions

02:05from four different regulators into one. A single powerful regulator responsible for

02:10the entire water sector will stand firmly on the side of customers, investors and the environment

02:15and prevent the abuses of the past.

02:17So far the government have agreed to some of the 88 recommendations, but with sewage still

02:21a major concern across Kentish coastlines, many of the public might not care which company

02:26runs the system so long as the seas stay clean.

02:30Finn McDermid for KMTV in Whitstable.

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