Northumberland MP Joe Morris welcomes powers introduced in Government's Water Act

And the new powers delivered by the Government’s Water (Special Measures) Act 2025 have been welcomed by Joe Morris, Labour MP for the Hexham constituency.

The new measures deliver on the Government’s promise to bring tougher criminal charges against lawbreakers in the water industry.

As part of the Government’s Plan for Change, it says the threat of imprisonment will act as a powerful deterrent as water companies invest in upgrading broken water infrastructure and clean up rivers, lakes and seas.

Mr Morris said: “Our natural surroundings are what make this constituency so special and our waterways play a huge part in that – serving as regular dog walking spots, sites for water sports and being a huge draw to tourists from all over the world.

“However, for too long our rivers and waterways have been mistreated by the sewage dumping of water companies.

“I know that myself and many others across the Hexham constituency will be pleased to hear that powers, introduced by the Labour Government, to criminally charge law-breaking water bosses and make them clean up our waterways have now come into force.”

Environment Secretary Steve Reed said: “As part of the Plan for Change, these new powers will force water companies to focus on cleaning up our rivers, lakes and seas for good.

“In addition, new powers will mean that the polluters will pay for the cost of criminal investigations into wrongdoing. Authorities will now recover the costs of their enforcement activity, with the Environment Agency currently consulting on how they will use the powers.”