WATER companies that have handed out tens of billions of pounds in dividends to shareholders are polluting seas and rivers with untreated sewage, despite warnings from the industry’s watchdog.

Ofwat says it has “serious concerns” about the performance of five of the nine water companies serving England and Wales: Anglian Water, Northumbrian Water, Thames Water, Wessex Water and Yorkshire Water.

Referring to information submitted to Ofwat late in 2021, the regulator said in a report published today: “The data that emerged at the end of last year suggested widespread shortcomings in how water companies were running sewage treatment works.”