Truro MP Jayne Kirkham has welcomed new legislation to crack down on bosses polluting local waterways.

The Water (Special Measures) Bill has been introduced to parliament and will give regulators new powers to take tougher and faster action to crack down on water companies, including South West Water, if they are damaging the environment and failing their customers. 

The bill significantly increases the ability of the Environment Agency to bring criminal charges against law-breaking water executives, by means of tougher penalties - including imprisonment - when companies fail to co-operate or obstruct investigations.

The new legislation will also ban the payment of bonuses to water bosses if they fail to meet high standards to protect the environment, their consumers and their company’s finances.

Regulators will be allowed to issue penalties more quickly, without having to direct resources to lengthy and cost-prohibitive investigations; and water companies will be required to publish real-time data (within an hour) for all emergency overflows in England in a clear, accessible format, thereby increasing transparency and enabling the public and regulators to hold water companies to account.

Describing the water system as “broken”, Ms Kirkham said that under the new legislation, “water executives will no longer line their own pockets while pumping out filth”, adding: “If they refuse to comply, they could end up in the dock and face prison time”.

She said the bill was “good news” for anti-sewage campaigners and sea swimmers, marking the first step toward clearing up Falmouth's three town beaches as well as the Fal and Helford Rivers, which have several sewage outflow pipes upstream from them, or nearby.

Gyllyngvase Beach in particular has been blighted by constant spills caused by an overflow pipe to the west, as well as numerous others randomly releasing into Falmouth Bay. 

"Coastal communities in Cornwall can be assured that this bill kick starts the long-overdue clean-up of our beaches and rivers,” said Ms Kirkham. “The sea is a way of life here, and I'm pleased the new Labour government is prioritising water as a serious issue. We have a duty to protect the sea and we intend to do just that.”