Wessex Water has defended an £80,000 pay rise for its chief executive, Ruth Jefferson, stating it brings her salary "closer to market benchmarks". Her pay increased by almost 14% to £670,000, after the company said it was "deliberately set below comparable organisations" when she took on the role in 2024.
The pay rise comes as Environment Agency (EA) data indicates Wessex Water released 190,666 hours of raw sewage into waterways last year. The company reported an annual profit of £96m last year, which it stated was being entirely reinvested into infrastructure improvements. Shareholders will not receive a dividend for five years, until 2030.
Wessex Water's annual report shows four serious pollution incidents occurred in the 2025-26 financial year, resulting in an £11.3m fine for the company. The EA is also investigating nine separate incidents involving the company between 2022 and 2026.
Local resident Asha Amirali expressed outrage during a protest, stating, "I feel absolutely enraged, this should not be allowed to happen." Green Party councillor Joanna Wright added that people locally face issues with water quality daily, saying, "Over the years, I have been sick on occasions, and I know my children have been very ill from being in the river."
However, Matt Wheeldon, Wessex Water's director of infrastructure, said the environmental impact from storm overflows is "tiny". He cited EA data suggesting storm overflows were responsible for less than 1% of reasons for rivers not reaching "good" ecological status, with agriculture having a much bigger impact. Mr Wheeldon also denied that river water quality had worsened, stating, "For the past 30, rivers have got better."