Sewage companies 'not obliged to reveal wastewater information'

Sewage companies are not obliged to reveal information about whether they release wastewater into rivers or lakes, a court has decided.

A Tribunal ruled that water and sewage firms in England and Wales are not covered by laws on freedom of information.

It agreed with the Information Commissioner, saying that as the companies are not public authorities and consider themselves commercial firms, they do not have to be bound by the Environmental Information Regulations.

This has come as bad news to fishermen who are concerned that the drop in water quality of rivers and lakes will affect their catches.

Chief executive of the Angling Trust and Fish Legal Mark Lloyd said: "I think we anglers - and everyone else with an interest in clean water - need to ask why these companies are so desperate to keep their dirty secrets hidden away from public scrutiny."

Earlier this year, South West Water was fined £7,299 for polluting the River Ottery in north Cornwall after officers from the Environment Agency discovered sewage debris in the waterway.

Posted by Joseph Hutton