POLLUTION IN NUMBERS

£56.2bn the combined debt of the UK water companies

18.1% increase in dividend payout to water company shareholders from 2020 to 2021

2,700,000 number of hours during 2021 the UK water companies discharged raw sewage into the environment.

£12.8bn combined revenue of UK water companies in 2022

£560,710 the amount Anglian Water was fined in January 2023 for an illegal discharge which killed 5,000 fish

292 number of MPs who, in January 2023, voted in favour of allowing water companies to continue dumping raw sewage into the UK seas and rivers until at least 2038

25% the amount of water lost in the system the utility companies can’t account for – aka ‘LEAKAGE’ water lost

£96,300,000 Anglian Water profits in the year to March 2022

£96,300,000

Anglian Water dividends paid out for the year to March 2022

99.95% cleanliness rating of UK drinking water

95% the amount of rainwater the Southern Water CEO claimed is in the raw sewage nil number of water companies’ CEOs willing to drink that water upon being challenged

14% number of rivers rated as high as ‘GOOD’ by the Environment Agency, 2021

100% number of UK rivers affected to a greater of lesser degree by illegal sewage dumping

1,000,000,000,000

(one trillion) the number of litres lost in the UK water system every year

It can be lonely at the top as head of any business. As a leader, your colleagues will look to you for reassurance and strong decision making, and although you may have all the answers, you can’t always easily show it.

By Simon Pringle, CEO, Red River