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Water firms threatened to hike bills if made to clean up sewage in rivers

Exclusive: Water companies told the government they’d pass the costs of cleaning up England’s rivers onto customers

By Lucas Amin and Ben Webster
Water firms threatened to hike bills if made to clean up sewage in rivers
Water samples taken from the River Cam last summer contained phosphorus levels more than 50 times higher than the recommended level | Edward Crawford/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images
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Water companies threatened to hike customers' bills if the government made them clean up the sewage they dumped in rivers, openDemocracy can reveal.

One firm, which recorded profits north of £100m last year, called proposed government targets "demanding" and argued they would result in more customers struggling to afford bills.

Sewage is the main source of phosphorus water pollution in England. This drives the growth of toxic algae, which in turn kills plants and fish in rivers and lakes.

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Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0