water will flow into sewers, so. are we blameless in all of this? ruth kelly is the chair of water uk, which represents england s nine water companies and she spoke to nag on bbc breakfast this morning. in the bbc breakfast this morning. in the ast these bbc breakfast this morning. in the past these sorts bbc breakfast this morning. in the past these sorts of bbc breakfast this morning. in the past these sorts of overflows - bbc breakfast this morning. in the past these sorts of overflows were i past these sorts of overflows were completely permitted in legislation, just because it is legal does not make it the right thing to do. water companies want to start listening heavily in this area and it is a radical transformation programme we are proposing today. are proposing today. who s going to -a for are proposing today. who s going to pay for the? are proposing today. who s going to pay for the? the are proposing today. who s going to pay for the? the way are proposing today
wrecking our rivers and we start to see clean rivers again. so you are somewhat sceptical of this apology then? sceptical but enthused by the fact that this is starting to rattle, rattle government, it s rattling the water industry and it s rattling the regulators. along with the apology came a proposal by the water companies, to spend £10 billion by 2030, modernising our sewage infrastructure. so what we have here, these are the storm tanks. more of these huge tanks to stop overflows during heavy rain would be built, as would bigger pipes and increased capacity at treatment plants. the money to fund these improvements isn t going to come out of the pockets of the water companies, or the dividends of their shareholders. ultimately, the cost will fall on all of us, through higher bills paid most likely over several decades. the system isn t good enough and we ve apologised for that. you are a big part of the system? we are a part of the system and for many decades, many, many decades,
likely over several decades. the system isn t good enough and we ve apologised for that. you re a big part of the system? we are a part of the system and for many decades, many, many decades, we ve got victorian systems in many cases. that you haven t invested in? they haven t been invested in. we are investing in them, we are improving them and it s going to take more time to do so. the water companies will hope this apology draws a line under their past failings. the likelihood of higher bills means that questions about their role will surely rumble on. jonah fisher, bbc news, in oxfordshire. you might know if this has happened in your area. if you aren t sure and would like to check then have a look at this map on the bbc website you can zoom in on it and see not only where the overflows have
from their rivers and beaches. we ve heard the strength of feeling. so what did the campaigners make of it? we ll give ourselves a pat on the back when the sewage stops wrecking our rivers and we start to see clean rivers again. so you re somewhat sceptical of this apology then? sceptical but enthused by the fact that this is starting to rattle, rattle government, it s rattling the water industry and it s rattling the regulators. along with the apology came a proposal by the water companies, to spend £10 billion by 2030, modernising our sewage infrastructure. so what we have here, these are the storm tanks. more of these huge tanks to stop overflows during heavy rain would be built, as would bigger pipes and increased capacity at treatment plants. the money to fund these improvements isn t going to come out of the pockets of the water companies, or the dividends of their shareholders. ultimately, the cost will fall on all of us, through higher bills paid most