The Times: UU becomes first water company to be hit with special enforcement measure by the ICO
United Utilities was issued with an unprecedented reprimand by the UK’s data watchdog for wrongly keeping sewage pollution data secret.
United Utilities become the first water company to be hit with a special enforcement measure by the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) over failure to comply with transparency laws.
The watchdog said it had received “numerous complaints” from the public over compliance by the water company, which serves the northwest of England and illegally dumped millions of litres of sewage in Windermere in February.
The ICO said United Utilities had repeatedly claimed that information people had asked for under Environmental Information Request (EIR) rules wasn’t environmental, when it clearly was. The firm has previously refused requests by The Times’ Clean it Up campaign, arguing that timings of raw sewage spilt into waterways wasn’t environmental information.
“Any information that would enlighten the public about how United Utilities operates and the impact it has on the environment is, by its very nature, likely environmental — this includes data on sewage spills and the performance of its wastewater treatment works,” Warren Seddon, director of FOI at the ICO, said.
United Utilities said it was committed to being more transparent and would consider the recommendations set out by the ICO.
Matt Staniek of Save Windermere said:
“Time and time again, United Utilities has withheld information from Save Windermere, obstructing our ability to scrutinise the extent of their illegal activity and the environmental harm they are inflicting on Windermere. As the EA fails to request this crucial information, it prevents us from holding United Utilities accountable for their actions. This step from the ICO is therefore very welcome.
Based on our own experience and that of others, UU seems to be one of the least transparent water companies, yet they are still rewarded a 4* industry rating. It shouldn’t be the role of individuals and campaign groups to hold these companies to account, but in the absence of an effective regulator, we will continue to work with the ICO to obtain the data needed to secure the long term protection of our most precious natural resource.”
