Welsh Water customers ‘getting a raw deal’

Welsh Water customers are getting a raw deal, with bills increasing while “disgraceful” pollution continues and executives pocket “scandalous” payments, the Senedd heard.

Rhys ab Owen expressed concerns about Dŵr Cymru Welsh Water being issued a £1.3m fine for failing to monitor water quality at 300 different sites and committing 800 offences.

“This is on top of the sewage that was discharged last year, over 118,000 times,” he said. “That is a sewage spill every five minutes – the highest… of any UK water company.”

Mr ab Owen, who sits as an independent, told the Senedd: “Constituents find it very difficult to believe – it sticks in the back of the throat – that executives are paid eye-watering sums, that there are discussions for them to be paid even higher salaries.

“And this at the same time that Dŵr Cymru is increasing household bills by 27% this year, an average of £86 per household. Costs for householders are increasing yet scrutiny seems to be decreasing due to lack of funding and investment by the Welsh Government.”

‘Failings’

Huw Irranca-Davies said Welsh Water will invest £6bn between 2025 and 2030, including £1.2bn to deliver environmental improvements and tackle nutrient pollution.

The Deputy First Minister said: “I’ve been consistently clear – both with the water companies and indeed the regulator, Ofwat – that customers in Wales expect to see real, tangible improvements in services… infrastructure and in environmental outcomes.”

He told Senedd Members: “The investment… has indeed because it’s frontloaded led to increased bills for consumers, so we need to see that turned into action.

“We need to see the improvement in environmental performance coming through rapidly. If the investment is frontloaded, we need to see the benefits come through sooner too and that is right on behalf of the bill payers in Wales.”

He said Welsh Water acknowledged its failings following the court case – committing to reducing the ecological harm from storm overflows by 90%, and 100% by 2032.

‘Scandalous’

Mr Irranca-Davies, whose responsibilities include water, told Senedd Members he will shortly be meeting Jane Hanson, who was appointed Welsh Water’s chair in January.

“I can guarantee that this will be one of the matters on the agenda,” he said. “And I will be seeking assurance on the trajectory of Dŵr Cymru Welsh Water’s turnaround plan.”

Janet Finch-Saunders, the Conservatives’ shadow climate secretary, said: “I just can’t believe that we’re still discussing this. Whilst we’re talking about it, there’s probably dozens of pollution incidents taking place right now.”

Criticising “chaos” after disruption to water in her Aberconwy constituency in January, she said many of her constituents received increased bills before any compensation.

She described chief executive Peter Perry receiving total remuneration of £892,000 as scandalous, with a bonus of £91,000 paid in 2024.

‘This must stop’

Addressing the Deputy First Minister during topical questions on May 21, she said: “I do think you need to be far more robust in your meeting with the chair….

“This has to stop and it has to stop immediately because people deserve better. They deserve better from this Welsh Labour government, Dŵr Cymru and Natural Resources Wales…. This cannot go on for any longer.”

Mr Irranca-Davies, a former Defra minister in Gordon Brown’s UK Government, stressed that Welsh ministers are listening to people’s concerns.

Wales’ climate change secretary emphasised the need to strike the right balance between environmental action and ensuring bills remain affordable.

He said: “Ofwat has signalled greater scrutiny now… and have said that if water companies do not deliver the performance, that money should be returned to water bill payers. I’m not sure what’s more robust than that and we would agree with that as well.”

‘So disgraceful’

Plaid Cymru’s Delyth Jewell said: “This year customers in Wales face the biggest increase in bills in these islands while sewage is released into our rivers, lakes and seas….

“I’m concerned that we’ve become used to saying that that happens and it shouldn’t be normalised – it’s so disgraceful… this is our most precious natural resource”

Arguing proposals for pay increases run counter to the Water (Special Measures) Act, South Wales East representative Ms Jewell pointed out that 115,000 households in Wales are categorised as in water poverty.

She called for a review into the “broken” link between executive salaries and performance, saying: “Many people now think this is the norm and it shouldn’t be.”

Labour’s Mike Hedges warned “huge” increases in water and sewage charges are hurting his constituents in Swansea East, calling for executives to pay fines from their own pockets.