MP slams Hampshire water companies over 'crap in our rivers'

At a #StrongerTogetherForum event at the Anvil, the Gazette asked Luke Murphy why residents and councillors get “word salad” replies from firms accused of dumping sewage and draining local water supplies — and what he is doing about it.

“I seem to be reporting on it every week,” Gazette reporter Matt Rooks-Taylor told him, citing Southern Water, Thames Water and South East Water, and repeated over‑abstraction and sewage discharges.

Mr Murphy said the Environment Agency had acted after he raised concerns about Greywell, and that companies had “failed to invest in the necessary infrastructure”, leaving Basingstoke without secure water and wastewater capacity for planned new homes.

Mark Jones and Luke Murphy MP at the event

He warned that without proper infrastructure, the town faced “an intractable problem” and could not responsibly deliver the housing expected of it.

Mr Murphy called sewage releases into local rivers and chalk streams “outrageous” and “disgraceful”, saying Thames Water and Southern Water “have a lot to answer for”, and said the privatised model “has not delivered the promise” of cleaner, more reliable services despite years of profits and bosses’ bonuses.

Mr Murphy said residents should not have to put up with sewage in their waterways or the slow decline of chalk streams and wetlands, warning they were losing faith in the system.

“I think we need a much tighter regime,” he said, calling for tougher curbs on executive bonuses and stronger laws to monitor and tackle pollution, adding that “much tighter rules around bonuses, much tighter rules around pollution and monitoring” were needed to force companies to change course.

But he said the essential upgrades could not be delivered overnight, warning: “You can’t build a water system that should have been invested in over the last 15 years overnight,” as years of failure had left parts of the network fragile and routine pressure exposed deeper problems.

Mr Murphy said he would personally hold companies to account through correspondence, meetings and Parliament, had raised water infrastructure with housing authorities, and said a recent roundtable with local environmental groups, the Environment Agency and a water firm gave the company “a clear political message from everyone in the room about what was expected of them”.

He said the Government must tighten regulation and vowed to keep up pressure locally and in Westminster until residents see real improvements.

"It really is quite disgusting, and it actually speaks to – it's one of those, I think – like potholes: it is crap in our rivers. We're a modern, developed country, we should really not be in a position where we have that. They have been allowed to get away with it for too long," he said.

He warned Basingstoke "cannot be in a position" where pollution and water under-investment block new homes and nature recovery, vowing to press companies and regulators until they "begin to put it right".

Mr Murphy’s comments follow warnings from local leaders, campaigners and residents over the impact of abstraction and sewage on Basingstoke’s rivers and chalk streams, amid anger at the slow pace of change.

The Environment Agency has refused to renew South East Water's Greywell abstraction licence, a decision the company is appealing while it develops alternative supplies.

South East Water has said immediately stopping abstraction could affect up to 9,563 customers locally and potentially a further 61,363 in the wider Basingstoke area.

The company has told the council that a proposed Surrey Hills-to-Basingstoke transfer pipeline is expected in the early 2030s, subject to a review of its route.

A Southern Water spokesperson said:  "We understand the strength of feeling people have about the health of our rivers and coastal waters and helping to protect these remains a top priority for us.

"Over the next five years (2025-30), we'll be progressing our largest-ever investment programme to date, focusing on improving our wastewater and water networks, reducing the use of storm overflows, strengthening water resilience and delivering real environmental improvements.

"We're investing in major projects to help protect Hampshire's internationally important chalk streams, including the River Test and River Itchen, and reduce our reliance on them. This includes Havant Thicket Reservoir, the first new reservoir to be built in the UK for more than 30 years, alongside water transfer schemes that will help move water to where it is needed while reducing pressure on precious chalk stream habitats.

"We know there is more to do and our focus is on delivering these improvements as quickly as possible.” 

South East Water's head of water resources, Nick Price, said: "South East Water is a drinking water only company. As such, any questions regarding pollution would need to be directed to the wastewater provider for the specific area in question.

"Our primary and overriding priority is the safety, health, and well-being of our customers as we deliver the public water supply but we are also committed to ensuring our abstractions are environmentally sustainable.

"We understand and appreciate the level of concern and urgency surrounding the issues of water security and infrastructure delivery in the Basingstoke area, and we are reviewing and progressing options to reduce the risk to customers and the environment as quickly and effectively as possible.

"We are committed to working with Local Planning authorities and other partners, including our regulators, to ensure our abstractions are environmentally sustainable."

Thames Water has been approached for comment.