March 27, 2023
A House of Lords Committee report released on 22nd March has concluded that the collective failure of water firms, regulators, and the government has left the public and the environment facing unacceptable levels of water pollution.
Sailesh Mehta prosecutes and defends in leading regulatory cases. He has been instructed in cutting-edge environmental cases, including headline-grabbing water pollution incidents.
He was interviewed by talkRADIO to give his reaction to the report and spoke of the negligence of water companies regarding the amount of sewage being dumped in rivers. He commented:
“Treated and untreated sewage is released into inland waters and the sea. This is permitted in very specific circumstances eg, storm overflows and is regulated by the Environment Agency, the Water Services Regulation Authority (Ofwat). I have prosecuted numerous water pollution cases. There is increasing public concern about the level of sewage pollution and dumping in our waters. Such concerns are reflected in increasing fines for water companies. But there are ways to address the growing problem. One is to properly fund the regulators and to allow them to regulate the industry properly.”
Listen to interview here: [Sailesh Metha on talkRadio with Petrie Hosken] (scroll to 07min 50secs)
Read Sailesh’s recent piece in The Times on water pollution: [David Walbank KC and Sailesh Mehta write for The Times]
Read House of Lords report here: [Parliament UK]
Barristers
Sailesh Mehta
Call: 1986