by Ellen Kenyon Peers, Waltham Forest Socialist Party
While water bills are rocketing by up to 45% across the UK, residents in Surrey are facing a different problem: enormous sinkholes. People living on Godstone High Street were required to evacuate as the cavernous hole engulfed a 20m section of the road, sparking fears of potential explosions from exposed cables. Although the cause has yet to be determined, experts have said the culprit is likely a mains water leak. This is the second such incident in just six months, with a previous sinkhole in Dorking requiring the replacement of 34m of sewer pipe and further repairs caused by the rubble from the initial collapse.
Photo: Jennifer Petrie/CC
Incidents like these could be avoided with proper investment; infrastructure needs to be replaced and upgraded periodically to keep the water system running. However, greedy water companies — many of whom have reported millions in ‘losses’ over recent years — would rather line the pockets of their shareholders than maintain the ageing water system. Surrey residents are faced with the worst of both worlds; with their freshwater supplied by SES Water and their sewage system by Thames Water, the latter of which has faced justified scrutiny over the levels of sewage being pumped directly into rivers with at least 72 billion litres of the stuff going in the Thames since 2020. OFWAT, the inept regulator charged with keeping Big Water in check, has rewarded the company with permission to increase bills by an average of 33%.
SES or SOS?
SES Water, newly acquired by the Pennon Group water monopoly, uses AI sensors to monitor for water leaks. This is another cost-cutting measure framed as a technological development, much like the dangerous proposals by rail companies for robots to monitor for track damage. SES Water has been given permission to put extra charges on their bills to reward their work fixing leaks. In 2022, they lost 76 litres per property served every day!
The only development that can deliver lasting change is the renationalisation of water* under democratic workers’ control and management — and that’s what the Socialist Party fights for.
*and leaving the bosses in the sinkhole and then paving over it.