It Will Take 700 Years to Replace UK Water Grid at Current Pace
Britain’s private water companies have been in the spotlight over systematic sewage spills and chronic leaks, following decades of poor government oversight.
Photographer: Jose Sarmento Matos/BloombergThis article is for subscribers only.
The UK’s privatized water sector has been so slow in fixing the nation’s network that it would take 700 years and billions of pounds to replace its aging pipelines at current rates, according to a watchdog.
Water firms have often overshot their allowed expenditure — adding some of those costs to consumers’ bills — but they’ve failed to keep pace with what’s needed, the National Audit Office said in a report on Friday.