Severn Trent boss defends multi-million pay packet despite sewage spills

The boss of Severn Trent has defended her multi-million pound pay package despite sewage spills by the company rising by a third in 2023.

Liv Garfield was awarded £3.2m in pay, bonuses and shares last year, while over the past four years she has earned nearly £13m.

Severn Trent was responsible for more than 60,000 sewage spills last year which Ms Garfield told the BBC Today programme “doesn’t make me feel good”.

However, she said that over the last few years Severn Trent has “made massive progress on river quality”.

The industry is under intense scrutiny about the quality of Britain’s water following a series of sewage spillages.

Meanwhile, the next few weeks are key for water companies in determining by how much they can raise customers’ bills.

Some, such as Thames Water, wants to lift bills by 44% over the next five years to pay for investment.

Industry regulator Ofwat will meet soon to decide on the increase for bills between 2025 and 2030, with draft proposals set to be announced on 12 June.