Government and the water regulator Ofwat broke law on sewage, says watchdog
The government and the water regulator broke the law by allowing sewage to be discharged outside of “exceptional circumstances”, according to the green watchdog.
Outlets called combined sewer overflows (CSOs) are only meant to be opened on rare occasions, such as during very heavy rain to stop sewage flooding back into homes and businesses.
But the Office for Environmental Protection said environment department Defra, water regulator Ofwat and the Environment Agency failed to give guidance, permits and enforcement for the use of CSOs in line with the law.
The findings come in a crucial week for the water industry.
Britain’s largest company Thames Water is in court today trying to get approval for a £3bn loan to stop it running out of cash, and on Thursday Ofwat will give its final verdict on how much bills can increase.
An overflow pipe near the banks of Lake Windermere. Pic: Reuters
Campaigners who made the complaint to the green watchdog said it showed pollution “plaguing” rivers would not be happening if the various bodies were doing their jobs properly.
Sewage discharges can cause diarrhoea, stomach cramps and fever for swimmers, as well as harming wildlife and ecosystems.
The Office for Environmental Protection (OEP) has sent notices on what action must be taken to remedy the situation.
The various bodies have two months to respond, but a failure to take action could see them taken to court.
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“The core issue identified in our investigation is the circumstances in which the regulatory system allows untreated sewage discharges to take place,” said Helen Venn, the OEP’s chief regulatory officer.
“We interpret the law to mean that they should generally be permitted only in exceptional circumstances, such as during unusually heavy rainfall,” added Ms Venn.
“This is unless an assessment of the CSO concludes that the costs to address the issue would be disproportionate to the benefits gained.
“While the public authorities are now taking steps to ensure their approaches are aligned and reflective of the law, we have found that this has not always been the case.”
The OEP investigation did not include overflows at sewage treatment works – where the Environment Agency is now investigating companies for potential failures.
Discharges into rivers, lakes and the sea have caused anger. File pic: Reuters
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In response to the findings, an Ofwat spokesperson said it was “actively taking steps to remedy the issues”.
“We will continue to prioritise our enforcement investigation into all wastewater companies which started in 2021 to ensure that companies are meeting their environmental obligations,” they said.
Thames Water recently revealed a 40% spike in sewage spills. Pic: Reuters
A Labour spokesperson said “catastrophic policies” by the Tories had “left record levels of sewage pollution in Britain’s rivers, lakes and seas”.
They said they had now acted “decisively” to put water firms in special measures, with new powers to ban bonuses and bring back criminal charges.
An Environment Agency spokesperson said it had “made significant progress in addressing the issues identified by the OEP and are consulting on updates to our permitting approach and regulatory framework for storm overflows”.
Satoshi Nakamoto, the pseudonymous creator of Bitcoin, marks their 50th birthday amid a year of rising institutional and geopolitical adoption of the world’s first cryptocurrency.
The identity of Nakamoto remains one of the biggest mysteries in crypto, with speculation ranging from cryptographers like Adam Back and Nick Szabo to broader theories involving government intelligence agencies.
While Nakamoto’s identity remains anonymous, the Bitcoin (BTC) creator is believed to have turned 50 on April 5 based on details shared in the past.
According to archived data from his P2P Foundation profile, Nakamoto once claimed to be a 37-year-old man living in Japan and listed his birthdate as April 5, 1975.
Source: Web.archive.org
Nakamoto’s anonymity has played a vital role in maintaining the decentralized nature of the Bitcoin network, which has no central authority or leadership.
The Bitcoin wallet associated with Nakamoto, which holds over 1 million BTC, has laid dormant for more than 16 years despite BTC rising from $0 to an all-time high above $109,000 in January.
Satoshi Nakamoto statue in Lugano, Switzerland. Source: Cointelegraph
Nakamoto’s 50th birthday comes nearly a month after US President Donald Trump signed an executive order creating a Strategic Bitcoin Reserve and a Digital Asset Stockpile, marking the first major step toward integrating Bitcoin into the US financial system.
Related: Bitcoin at 16: From experiment to trillion-dollar asset
Nakamoto’s legacy: a “cornerstone of economic sovereignty”
“At 50, Nakamoto’s legacy is no longer just code; it’s a cornerstone of economic sovereignty,” according to Anndy Lian, author and intergovernmental blockchain expert.
“Bitcoin’s reserve status signals trust in its scarcity and resilience,” Lian told Cointelegraph, adding:
“What’s fascinating is the timing. Fifty feels symbolic — half a century of life, mirrored by Bitcoin’s journey from a white paper to a trillion-dollar asset. Nakamoto’s vision of trustless, peer-to-peer money has outgrown its cypherpunk roots, entering the halls of power.”
However, lingering questions about Nakamoto remain unanswered, including whether they still hold the keys to their wallet, which is “a fortune now tied to US policy,” Lian said.
Related: Bitcoin’s next catalyst: End of $36T US debt ceiling suspension
Is Satoshi Nakamoto wealthier than Bill Gates?
In February, Arkham Intelligence published findings that attribute 1.096 million BTC — then valued at more than $108 billion — to Nakamoto. That would place him above Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates on the global wealth rankings, according to data shared by Coinbase director Conor Grogan.
Satoshi’s new addresses. Source: Conor Grogan
If accurate, this would make Nakamoto the world’s 16th richest person.
Despite the growing interest in Nakamoto’s identity and holdings, his early decision to remain anonymous and inactive has helped preserve Bitcoin’s decentralized ethos — a principle that continues to define the cryptocurrency to this day.
Magazine: 10 crypto theories that missed as badly as ‘Peter Todd is Satoshi’
The United States stock market lost more in value over the April 4 trading day than the entire cryptocurrency market is worth, as fears over US President Donald Trump’s tariffs continue to ramp up.
On April 4, the US stock market lost $3.25 trillion — around $570 billion more than the entire crypto market’s $2.68 trillion valuation at the time of publication.
Nasdaq 100 is now “in a bear market”
Among the Magnificent-7 stocks, Tesla (TSLA) led the losses on the day with a 10.42% drop, followed by Nvidia (NVDA) down 7.36% and Apple (AAPL) falling 7.29%, according to TradingView data.
The significant decline across the board signals that the Nasdaq 100 is now “in a bear market” after falling 6% across the trading day, trading resource account The Kobeissi Letter said in an April 4 X post. This is the largest daily decline since March 16, 2020.
“US stocks have now erased a massive -$11 TRILLION since February 19 with recession odds ABOVE 60%,” it added. The Kobessi Letter said Trump’s April 2 tariff announcement was “historic” and if the tariffs continue, a recession will be “impossible to avoid.”
Source: Anthony Scaramucci
On April 2, Trump signed an executive order establishing reciprocal tariffs on trading partners and a 10% baseline tariff on all imports from all countries.
Trump said the reciprocal tariffs will be roughly half the rate US trading partners impose on American goods.
Related: Bitcoin bulls defend $80K support as ‘World War 3 of trade wars’ crushes US stocks
Meanwhile, the crypto industry has pointed out that while the stock market continues to decline, Bitcoin (BTC) remains stronger than most expected.
Crypto trader Plan Markus pointed out in an April 4 X post that while the entire stock market “is tanking,” Bitcoin is holding.
Source: Jeff Dorman
Even some crypto skeptics have pointed out the contrast between Bitcoin’s performance and the US stock market during the recent period of macro uncertainty.
Stock market commentator Dividend Hero told his 203,200 X followers that he has “hated on Bitcoin in the past, but seeing it not tank while the stock market does is very interesting to me.”
Meanwhile, technical trader Urkel said Bitcoin “doesn’t appear to care one bit about tariff wars and markets tanking.” Bitcoin is trading at $83,749 at the time of publication, down 0.16% over the past seven days, according to CoinMarketCap data.
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