Anglers Against Pollution

07 October 2025

Angling Trust response to latest Water Restoration Fund announcement

The Water Restoration Fund was announced by the previous Government in 2022, so it is good to see money from the fund finally beginning to flow to on-the-ground projects that can help restore damaged rivers.

But the amount awarded, over £10 million, is nowhere near the scale of the harm caused by polluters — or the size of the fines imposed on water companies. In 2023 alone, Ofwat expected to levy around £70 million in environmental fines. Yet only a fraction of that has been ring-fenced for river restoration. That is tokenistic and falls far short of what’s needed to repair decades of pollution and neglect.

This fund is meant to embody the polluter pays principle — but with the treasury keeping the lion’s share, the damaged caused by that pollution is not being fully addressed. Water companies must not pass on the cost of their own pollution to bill payers. Fines should come directly from company profits not from customers’ pockets.

Stuart Singleton White, Head of Campaigns comments:

“The Water Restoration Fund should put the polluter pays principle into action. Fines must come from company profits, not household bills. The Treasury needs to invest all the money raised in cleaning up the mess. £10 million is nowhere near the scale of damage caused by polluters — or the fines water companies face. In 2023 alone, around £70 million in penalties were expected, yet only a fraction is ring-fenced for restoration. If the government were serious about cleaning up our rivers, we’d see a lot more money coming through this fund. Anything less is simply green washing.”

The Angling Trust is calling for:

All environmental fines on water companies to be paid into the Water Restoration Fund — not just a chosen few.
Legal guarantees that the fund remains ring-fenced and cannot be clawed back by the Treasury.
Stronger enforcement, robust regulation, and governance reform to hold water companies properly to account.

Support the Angling Trust’s Anglers Against Pollution campaign – click for more information

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