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'Performance hasn't been good enough' - Water firm

Harry Parkhill / BBC Regan Harris smiling in a radio studio with a purple Radio Lincolnshire microphone to the left of the picture. She is wearing a blue jumper and a silver necklace.Harry Parkhill / BBC
Anglian Water's Regan Harris defended the utility company's record in a hotseat phone in on BBC Radio Lincolnshire

A water company admitted its performance "hasn't been good enough" when tackling pollution.

Anglian Water was told to refund customers £38.1m by the water regulator in October.

It was the second highest refund ordered of UK water companies by Ofwat.

But the company's spokesperson told BBC Radio Lincolnshire "we are seeing improvements".

Interior of radio studio with Frances Finn presenting surrounded by monitors and technical equipment. Regan Harris is looking at Fran from the left.
Frances Finn regularly holds politicians, and key organisations to account as part of her Hotseat on BBC Radio Lincolnshire

Regan Harris, Anglian Water's spokesperson, said it had been fined by Ofwat for its "impact on the environment."

"We're holding our hands up, performance hasn't been good enough but we've made a lot of changes over the last few years and we are starting to see an improvement but it will take time to come to fruition," she said.

BBC Radio Lincolnshire's hour-long Hotseat features politicians and decision makers facing questions from the public.

Caller Pete Richards, from Horncastle, queried whether the company had invested enough to tackle the issues it faces.

"Why haven't you been investing for the last forty years for example?" he asked.

Ms Harris said the firm had invested £20bn since 1989.

"The fact that we've invested in resilience to climate change and providing for a growing population means that we didn't have to have a hosepipe ban two or three summers ago when nearly the rest of the country did" she said.

"On the waste water side, yes there is work to do to invest in some of that and that's why we're having conversations with our regulator to allow that investment."

Hilda who has grey hair and wears horn rimmed glasses and a pink scarf smiles at the camera.
Hilda from Spilsby said she was concerned about sewage going into the sea

"We live near the coast and I'm worried about the amount of sewage pumped into the sea...Why are you pumping sewage into the sea?" Hilda asked of Anglian Water.

"It is going into the sea, but only in extreme circumstances when there's heavy rainfall," Regan Harris said.

Anglian Water currently uses 1500 drains for these kinds of storm overflows, but the firm is working on a programme to replace them.

"Since privatisation we've got rid of several hundred and that is an ongoing programme of work," Regan Harris said.

The firm also said it was planning "a billion pounds worth of investment just on tackling storm overflows."

The hour long discussion also touched on plans for a reservoir in Lincolnshire, utility bills and flooding. You can listen back on BBC Sounds.

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