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Torys vote to keep SH*T in the water.

Is this a U turn or just a few meaningless words hiding the facts?
A reduction of discharges over 5 years? from 400,000 per year.
A promise to text us when they're dumping sh*t
mbe an addendum to the BBC weather.
 
Lol, as much shite on here as there is in the water. Carry on directing your energy like that about brexit and it will just allow the government to carry on dodging the bullets.

I already see the government has done a U bend on this decision. How easy is it to make the EU respond so quickly when they make stupid decisions?
 
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No, I don't think so. The issue is one of effective regulation. I don't believe the bit about "privatised companies can actually do something about it" . The ineffectual public ownership trope is just as lazy as the one about evil capitalism and shareholder leeches. That there are examples of both does not justify the generalisation. If companies are ineffectual, they generally fold. If they are effectively regulated then they realise that breaking the rules is costly and that fines hammer the bottom line, so they behave.

It does seem that govt regulation is ineffective. It could be that it’s just not sufficiently enforced. They can’t run these organisations themselves nor regulate them effectively. What exactly do they do?! This has been going on for decades. Govts come and go and are short term in nature. What have the senior civil servants been doing to steer these issues in the right direction?
 
The problem is that they are all basically monopolies. How do I change my water/sewage services supplier if I don't like their performance. What incentive do they have, other than dodging fines, and maximising profit?
 
Is this a U turn or just a few meaningless words hiding the facts?
A reduction of discharges over 5 years? from 400,000 per year.
A promise to text us when they're dumping sh*t
mbe an addendum to the BBC weather.

An addendum to the weather forcast would seem most appropriate, a breakdown of onshore winds by area and related to crap dumping? :eek:
 
An addendum to the weather forcast would seem most appropriate, a breakdown of onshore winds by area and related to crap dumping? :eek:
Sort of like the pollen count, but browner?

"Today is the start of the floater season, but there's always a background level of diarrhoeia at this time of year, so Dysentery sufferers would be well advised to stay indoors and upwind."
 
The problem is that they are all basically monopolies. How do I change my water/sewage services supplier if I don't like their performance. What incentive do they have, other than dodging fines, and maximising profit?

The more sh*t you discharge the higher the salary.

2Highest paid water company executives in England (where unnamed, figures are for highest paid director)

:: Severn Water, CEO Liv Garfield

Total remuneration 2013: £1.6m

2018: £2.1m

Chang since 2013: 27 per cent

:: United Utilities, CEO Steve Mogford

2013: £1.5m

2018: £2.1m

Change: 34 per cent

:: Anglian Water, unnamed

2013: £1.9m

2018: £1.9m

Change: zero per cent

:: Northumbria Water, CEO Heidi Mottram

2014 (nearest whole year figure): £817k

2018: £953k (estimated)

Change: 16 per cent

:: South West Water, CEO Chris Loughlin

2013: £499k

2018: £577k

Change: 15 per cent

:: Southern Water, CEO Ian McAulay (in post since 2017)

2013: £665k

2018: £1.1m

Change: 60 per cent

:: Thames Water, unnamed

2013: £1.3m

2018: £851k

Change: -34 per cent

:: Wessex Water, unnamed

2013: £487k

2018: £542k

Change: 11 per cent

:: Yorkshire Water, CEO Richard Flint

2013: £1.1m

2018: £932k

Change: -15 per cent2
 
Isn't that the rationale behind the super-sewer development? To be fair, infrastructure on that scale takes time

Yep. We went to an exciting talk about the Tideway just before covid hit :)

Interestingly one of the stated reasons for needing it isn't just population growth in the capital but the fact that so much of London has been paved over that it's lost most of it's natural drainage and almost all rainfall now flows into the sewers.
 
Isn't that the rationale behind the super-sewer development? To be fair, infrastructure on that scale takes time

They’ve been privatised for 31 years. Part of the reasoning for the sell off was so they could access private funding investment. Instead, it’s do a little as possible to meet the regulators requirements and MAXIMISE PROFITS. The Government and Ofwat have much to answer for these issues. Until stringent legal obligations are forced upon these Water Companies, the can will just be kicked down the road for other generations to deal with.
 
The problem is that they are all basically monopolies. How do I change my water/sewage services supplier if I don't like their performance. What incentive do they have, other than dodging fines, and maximising profit?

I suppose they have to be. Look at the current mess in the energy industry with a bunch of ‘suppliers’ who are nothing more than hedgers and billing machines. In fairness, I think Welsh Water are pretty good and a bargain. I pay about £200 a year, unmetered and always very quick to fix problems. In contrast, the bill at my (much smaller) place in Cornwall with a fraction of the use is multiple times that.
 
That sounds cheap. I pay Southern £320 a year just for sewage - our foul water drains into the canal, so that's with a discount. On top of that, there's £230 a year for water, but at least that's unmetered
 
The legacy of Thatcher’s Big Bang:

Crippling shortage of public and affordable housing.
A joke rail network not fit for Trumpton. Just look at Europe!
Gas & electricity companies that screw the public then fall over.
Water companies extorting their customers and fly tipping their shit.
Universities turned into businesses funded by student debt, with worthless degrees.

‘The beauty of the market’ and now her party of unflushables has turbo charged it with incompetence and political corruption.
 
That sounds cheap. I pay Southern £320 a year just for sewage - our foul water drains into the canal, so that's with a discount. On top of that, there's £230 a year for water, but at least that's unmetered

Ah, yes, that’s supply only. Have a septic tank, about £90 to empty every few years. Still cheap. I could put my own supply in (borehole) but there’s just no point.
 
I've just had a new one installed to bring me up to current regs. There wasn't any change out of £10k. They're called 'sewage treatment plants' now, but its very good, it discharges what appears to be inoffensive water. The old septic tank was a bloody nuisance, as the soak-away tended to block. When it overflowed from the manhole the horses used to love drinking it. About once a year I would put a pump on the tractor and spray it all over the field. It was best not to be downwind for a few days, but the grass would grow beautifully.
 
One of the issue re effluent from the congregations of large pig farms is the complete lack of planning controls

If that's happening near you someone is failing in their job.

When we had pigs the EA were always testing streams down the line and enforcing any infringements. We had a leak in a slurry pit once and it had to be sorted very quickly.

Much the same with the chickens, totally closed system with all effluent running into tanks for appropriate disposal. No mixing with rain.

It's a pity we haven't put in the same for human effluent!
 
I've just had a new one installed to bring me up to current regs. There wasn't any change out of £10k. They're called 'sewage treatment plants' now, but its very good, it discharges what appears to be inoffensive water. The old septic tank was a bloody nuisance, as the soak-away tended to block. When it overflowed from the manhole the horses used to love drinking it. About once a year I would put a pump on the tractor and spray it all over the field. It was best not to be downwind for a few days, but the grass would grow beautifully.

Yes, you’ve got to look after your soakaway! If you let if block, there’s no way back really. Ours is oversized and fingers crossed have had no issue but empty the chambers well before being full to avoid anything other than water going into the soakaway. A dead pheasant once in a while seems to work.
 
I suppose they have to be. Look at the current mess in the energy industry with a bunch of ‘suppliers’ who are nothing more than hedgers and billing machines. In fairness, I think Welsh Water are pretty good and a bargain. I pay about £200 a year, unmetered and always very quick to fix problems. In contrast, the bill at my (much smaller) place in Cornwall with a fraction of the use is multiple times that.

If there is one thing Wales has too much of it is water.
 


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