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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Environment
Sandra Laville Environment correspondent

Six water firms in England ‘overcharged customers by up to £1.5bn’

Sewage in the River Thames in Weybridge, Surrey.
The companies are accused of misleading Ofwat and the Environment Agency by significantly or systematically underreporting the number of sewage discharges. Photograph: Maureen McLean/Rex/Shutterstock

Six water companies overcharged customers between £800m and £1.5bn by “significantly or systematically” underreporting the true scale of their sewage pollution of rivers and waterways, a tribunal has heard.

In the first environmental competition class action against water companies in England, lawyers argued that the privatised firms had abused their monopoly position to mislead regulators over the amount of sewage they were discharging from their assets over the past 10 years.

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