The UK says water bosses could face prison under plans to clean up sewage-clogged rivers

LONDON — The bosses of water companies that pollute waterways could go to prison under a new law the British government says will help clean up the country’s sewage-clogged rivers, lakes and beaches.

A bill introduced in Parliament on Thursday will give regulators the ability to ban bonuses for executives of polluting firms and bring criminal charges against lawbreakers, with the possibility of up to two years' imprisonment for executives who obstruct investigations.

The state of Britain’s waterways made a stink during the campaign for a July 4 national election. For critics of the Conservative Party that had been in office since 2010, dirty water was a pungent symbol of Britain’s aging infrastructure and the effects of privatization of essential utilities.

The private companies that provide combined water and sewage services routinely discharge sewage into waterways when rain overwhelms sewer systems often dating from the Victorian era. Critics say the firms have failed to invest in upgrading infrastructure – but have continued to pay dividends to shareholders.

Water companies say they want to invest in upgrades but accuse the industry’s financial regulator, Ofwat, of not allowing them to raise customers’ bills enough to finance improvements.

The center-left Labour Party government elected in July has promised to clean up the “unacceptable” state of Britain’s waters.

Environment Secretary Steve Reed said that “water executives will no longer line their own pockets whilst pumping out this filth.”

The bill, which must be approved by lawmakers, also would strengthen powers of the regulators and force water companies to publish real-time data of all sewage spills.

Clean-water campaigner Feargal Sharkey said it was good news that “after years of denial at least there is a government prepared to accept and recognize the scale of the problem.”

But he said existing anti-pollution laws have rarely, if ever, been used.

“We don’t need new regulations, we don’t need new laws, we’ve got 35 years’ worth of laws that have never been applied,” Sharkey told Sky News. “You should force them to go out and apply the law as it stands today, that would have been a massive step forward.”