press release
    5th March 2004

As the Secretary of State for the Environment prepares to issue guidance to water companies concerning their draft business plans for water bills from 2005 - 2010 (the Periodic Review), Surfers Against Sewage (SAS) is urging the Government not to slash the environment programme to appease water companies.

The water companies, water regulators and water customer representative groups have all criticised the scale of the 2005-2010 environmental programme in recent weeks and see it as the 'one to cut' in order to keep bills affordable to customers to 2010.

SAS has calculated that far from being a financial weight bearing down heavily on the water customers' shoulders, a full environmental programme would contribute less than '3 pence per day' to the average South West Water customers' bill - a small price to pay for a clean and safe environment. Customers have already shown considerable interest in seeing water companies continue to invest to improve water quality at our coast and rivers and their concerns should be met.

Whilst some companies like South West Water have an unenviable task in maintaining and improving water quality to a large coastal region, it is vital companies like these continue to invest in new technology and in maintaining current assets to improve on their environmental performance. The value of improving on our water environment as described will benefit the nation by as much as £12 billion pounds according to the Environment Agency's advice to Ministers under this Periodic Review. Without significant investment in environmental improvements, we may also face strict penalties from the EU for failing to implement statutory environmental legislation, so the failure to invest brings with it a high price.

SAS are however very concerned that exceptionally high water bills are becoming more difficult to pay for some customers in certain regions - particularly the South West and we have asked the Government to look at reforming social security systems to help poorer households in paying their water bills.

With water companies complaining of higher taxation under the next Periodic Review, there may be a limited case for Government to look at redirecting some tax revenues received from the water industry into funding some environmental improvements. Effectively water companies would be getting tax relief on the amount of environmental spend they were making. Such a scheme should only be looked at after a thorough and independent investigation of a water companies budgeted costs and not as a way of improving the linings of shareholders pockets.

Richard Hardy, SAS Campaigns Director says : "The environmental programme should not be compromised as a tool to ease pressure on customer bills when it adds nothing more than a few pennies a day to bills and repays the nation with £12 billion pounds of benefits. The government has to seriously address the 'ability to pay' question in some regions and this should be examined under the social security system and by more flexible payment schemes from water companies".

For more information please contact Richard on Tel: 0845 4583001 or Mob: 07711 767548.

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