Week 6 - Sewage on our Beaches
Last week yet again South West Water issued a number of sewage alerts on our local beaches including Teignmouth Town, Teignmouth Holcombe and Dawlish Coryton Cove.
I have been getting emails on a near daily basis from local residents who are furious that they cannot swim without endangering their health. I also hear that dog walkers are now reluctant to let their dog near the water for fear of pollution in the sea.
Along with other Liberal Democrats in the recent General Election I campaigned on cleaning up our rivers and beaches. A healthy natural environment, where people breathe clean air, drink clean water and enjoy the beauty of the natural world, lies at the heart of the society and the economy Liberal Democrats want to create.
We believe that when an incident of river pollution occurs there should be heavy fines, strict management regimes and increased monitoring of future compliance.
The party would scrap Ofwat and replace it with a new tougher regulator called Clean Water Authority which would have powers to ban bonuses for water company bosses, revoke the licence of poorly performing water companies swiftly and set legally binding targets on sewage discharges.
There is a fundamental problem with our water companies. They are legally responsible only to their shareholders. The Pennon group which owns South West Water is majority owned by a number of international asset management companies. It’s these companies' job to increase the value of stock for their clients.
Company law currently says that a company director must put the financial interests of shareholders above any other consideration. The law needs changing so they are responsible not only to their shareholders but to the residents that they provide their services to and our environment as well.
We have a beautiful coastline with beaches to enjoy but often we can’t enjoy them due to the high levels of sewage.
There are even more serious implications for the wildlife in our waterways.
The number of fish dying in England's rivers has surged nearly tenfold since 2020, raising concerns that sewage pollution is devastating aquatic life. Data from the Environment Agency over the past four years reveals a dramatic increase in fish deaths associated with sewage pollution, rising from 26,690 in 2020-2021 to 216,135 in 2023-2024
We need to put the planet and nature before profits.
The ecology of our ocean and rivers is crucial to the life of our planet. The Government must take action to get the water companies to clean up our seas and rivers now.
We have beautiful seas and rivers and we need to maintain it for future generations to enjoy and for the future of our planet.
Sources:
The Guardian: www.theguardian.com/environment/article/2024/may/20/fish-deaths-in-englands-rivers-rise-tenfold-in-four-years
Angling Times: https://www.anglingtimes.co.uk/news/stories/unprecedented-fish-kills/
Notes
Investors should note that institutions actually own more than half the company, so they can collectively wield significant power. Hedge funds don't have many shares in Pennon Group. Our data shows that Lazard Asset Management LLC is the largest shareholder with 9.3% of shares outstanding. Amundi Asset Management SAS is the second largest shareholder owning 7.5% of common stock, and Impax Asset Management Group Plc holds about 5.4% of the company stock.
Looking at the shareholder registry, we can see that 52% of the ownership is controlled by the top 13 shareholders, meaning that no single shareholder has a majority interest in the ownership.