UK spending watchdog censures water firms and regulators over sewage failings

The report said some of the costs of the overspending was being added to consumers’ water bills. Photograph: Neil Hall/EPA

Water companies have been getting away with failures to improve sewage works and overspending because of regulatory problems, a damning report by the government’s spending watchdog has found.

Firms have overspent on infrastructure building, the National Audit Office (NAO) found, with some of these costs being added to consumers’ bills. The Guardian this week reported Ofwat and the independent water commission are investigating water firms for spending up to 10 times as much on their sewage works and piping as comparable countries.