Water Companies: Fines

Lord Berkeley Excerpts

Thursday 6th February 2025 Lords Chamber

[Lord Berkeley (Lab)]

My Lords, it is a great pleasure to follow the right reverend Prelate. I do not think some of his quotes would apply to the beaches and rivers of Cornwall. They are a mess. I do not think South West Water knows the difference between a storm water pipe and a sewage pipe because it does not seem to be able to act on it.

I have a quick question for the Minister. South West Water is planning to build a desalination plant in Par because there is not enough water around. Noble Lords might laugh because it rains a lot in Cornwall, but apparently this desalination plant will solve all the freshwater problems. Why is South West Water allowed to spend a lot of money on building a desal plant, which could have serious effects on the marine and air environment and, of course, consume a lot of electricity, when it cannot even spend the money on sorting out the beaches and the drains?

I am told that it is because Ofwat allows water companies to spend as much money as they can find on capital projects, but they are limited on what they can do on maintenance. That seems absolutely crazy, especially in a part of the world where it sometimes rains more than the sun shines. My noble friend might not be able to answer the question because I have only just told her about this, but it would be good to have a letter at some stage to hear whether there are any rules that could possibly dissuade South West Water from building a desalination plant in one of the wettest parts of the country.