In 2023, Northumbrian Water paid its shareholders £396 for every hour it dumped sewage — the 4th highest rate in England.

• This "profit from pollution" rate is based on Northumbrian Water polluting for 280,029 hours. The shareholders recieved £110.8m in dividends.
• The company is 75% owned by CK Hutchison Holdings, a company based in Hong Kong, and 25% owned by New York private equity firm KKR.
• Northumbrian Water has paid out a total of £4.1 billion in dividends since privatisation in 1989.
• Its debts have reached £3.5 billion. It was privatised with no debts.
• 19% of your bill is spent servicing Northumbrian 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