Thousands of hours of sewage pollution have been recorded in Cotswold watercourses over the past year, sparking urgent calls for Prime Minister Andy Burnham to overhaul the “broken” water industry. Data from environmental charity the Rivers Trust reveals at least 3,470 hours of sewage spillage across various North Cotswold rivers.
Their detailed mapping shows the Evenlode River at Moreton-in-Marsh was contaminated for over 1,143 hours, Broadwell for 367 hours, the Coln at Andoversford for nearly 1,138 hours, and the Windrush in Bourton-on-the-Water for more than 791 hours. Additional spillages were recorded at Northleach in 2025.
Liberal Democrat County Councillor Paul Hodgkinson, representing Bourton-on-the-Water and Northleach, is demanding that water companies be placed into special administration and restructured as mutual organisations owned by customers, not shareholders. His party advocates transforming all water companies into public-benefit mutuals to prioritize public health and environmental protection over private profits. They also call for a new, powerful clean water authority to enforce stringent environmental standards.
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Hodgkinson was joined by Lib Dem leader Ed Davey at Andoversford, an area severely affected by sewage pollution. Hodgkinson condemned the ongoing pollution, emphasizing the frustration of local communities while corporate executives profit.
“For years, our rivers like the Coln and Windrush have been polluted with sewage while foreign asset managers reap billions,” he said. “It’s an insult that Thames Water reports profits as our environment suffers and water bills rise. Andy Burnham must either defend our communities or allow this toxic system to continue unchecked. We need a clean break from failed privatisation, wiping away crippling debt and returning water infrastructure to the people who depend on it.”
Conservative MP Sir Geoffrey Clifton-Brown, representing North Cotswolds, has campaigned on this issue for nearly two decades, securing improvements like flood prevention infrastructure in Moreton-in-Marsh. He highlighted progress made under the 2021 Environment Act, which mandated sewage output measurement, and stated Thames Water’s debt of £17 billion is critically impacting its performance. He is pressing the Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs to place Thames Water into short-term administration to stabilize the company.
However, Clifton-Brown criticized the Lib Dem proposal for mutualisation, calling it vague and potentially costly, with full nationalisation estimated over £100 billion.
Thames Water responded by underscoring its commitment to customers and environmental health. The company reported an 18% reduction in pollutions and a 27% drop in serious pollution incidents. Their 2025 Event Duration Monitoring showed spill events reduced to one-third of the previous year’s levels.
Thames Water stressed that discharges occur only during heavy rains to prevent sewage backups, and these releases are heavily diluted. The company is investing a record £2.7 billion in network upgrades during 2025/26 — the biggest such investment in 150 years — to improve environmental outcomes and service reliability.
They continue to work toward recapitalising their finances to ensure long-term stability and uninterrupted delivery of critical infrastructure improvements for their 16 million customers.