In 2023, Wessex Water paid its shareholders £188 for every hour it dumped sewage — the 4th highest rate in England.

• This "profit from pollution" rate is based on Wessex Water polluted for 372,341 hours and paying out £69.9m in dividends.
• The company is owned by YTL, a Malaysian corporation listed on the stock exchange there and half owned by the family of the billionaire who set it up.
• Wessex Water has paid out a total of £4.25 billion in dividends since privatisation in 1989.
• Its debts have reached £2.6 billion. It was privatised with no debts.
• 19% of your bill is spent servicing Wessex Water's debts.

Privatisation VS Public Ownership

• England and Wales are the only countries to have fully privatised water and sewerage systems.
• Our bills have gone up by 40% in real terms since privatisation.
• Publicly owned Scottish Water has spent 35% more than the English water companies. If England had done the same an extra £28 billion would have been invested in sewage and leak prevention.
• Public ownership can make water companies more accountable. Paris Water has bill payers and sewage campaigners on its board, alongside water workers and elected councillors. In the Netherlands, water companies have to publish data on their performance

Read more at our dedicated water policy page here: https://weownit.org.uk/public-ownership/water