Surfers Against Sewage says 'public trust in our profiteering water companies is in tatters' (Image: Getty)

       More than half of adults in England do not trust the Government to put in place the necessary reforms to end sewage pollution, a poll has suggested. Sewage has poured into British waterways more than 158,000 times so far this year, with 54 days when there have been more than 1,000 sewage discharges in a single day.

       That is according to an analysis by campaign group Surfers Against Sewage (SAS), which commissioned a poll of 2,000 people. Some 52% of those surveyed do not trust ministers to end sewage pollution, while just 16% believe the sector's current privatised model is capable of halting the issue without reform.

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       Giles Bristow, chief executive of SAS, said: “Public trust in our profiteering water companies is in tatters, yet the Independent Water Commission still clings to the ideological delusion that our profit-before-people privatised system can be fixed.

       “This solution is simple: water companies need to be restructured to operate for the public good, not private profit. The Government granted the commission’s chair, Sir Jon Cunliffe, a golden opportunity to deliver a solution to the sewage crisis which still plagues our coastlines, rivers and lakes, but he looks set to fluff his lines.

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       “For as long as the core aim of the water industry is to make profit, our seas will continue to fill with sewage whilst the fat cats’ pockets fill with dirty money. The Labour Government promised to bring failing water companies into order and clean up the mess of over 35 years of privatised pollution. It must act boldly in the face of diminishing public trust.

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       “So, Sir Jon, tinkering won’t cut it. Your recommendations must be bold and set the bar high for the Government, who then must deliver the public’s clear demand for an end to profit from pollution.”

       The Independent Water Commission is set to deliver its final recommendations on water sector reform in England and Wales to the Government later this month.

       Water companies across England last year announced customer bills would increase by an average of 36% over the next five years.

       But SAS said that in 2024, sewage was discharged more than 500,000 times into UK waters, and shareholders of private water companies received ￡1.2billion in payouts.

       Water companies will increase compensation payments of up to ￡2,000 to customers failed by firms, the government has announced.

       Households will automatically receive more money for issues such as continued low water pressure and cancelled appointments.

       Severe issues such as flooding will see customer compensation double from ￡1,000 to up to ￡2,000, while households suffering consistent low water pressure will be automatically eligible to receive up to ￡250 – a significant uplift from the previous compensation rate of just ￡25.

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       A Water UK spokesman said: "Water companies are investing ￡12 billion to almost halve spills from storm overflows by 2030. This is part of the largest amount of money ever spent on the natural environment to help support economic growth, build more homes, secure our water supplies, and end sewage entering our rivers and seas.

       "We want to go further and go even faster, and we agree that the water system is not working. We have been calling for fundamental reforms which will allow investment to get quickly to where it needs to go."

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       A spokesman for the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, said: “Our rivers, lakes and seas are polluted, and our water system is broken.

       "As part of the Plan for Change, new legislation has banned unfair multi-million-pound bonuses for bosses at six water companies and launched a record 81 criminal investigations.

       “This Government has also secured the largest investment into the water sector in history, with ￡104bn in private sector investment to clean up rivers, lakes and seas and cut sewage by nearly half by 2030.”