Loopholes Are For Jumping Through?

People alway evidence surprise, when companies (whose operation is geared to maximising profits for their shareholders), exploit loopholes to save money. Peter Hammond (visiting the UK Centre for Ecology and Hydrology) has analysed raw sewage discharge by water companies into English rivers over a 10 year period, starting in 2010 (https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/jun/14/sewage-discharge-in-english-rivers-10-times-higher-than-official-data-suggests). Hammond chose 2010, because this is the date when a new regulation was brought in by the UK government. Water companies were allowed, from 2010, to 'self-report' their sewage spills. His data strongly suggests that water companies were unlawfully discharging sewage into English rivers on a scale that was at least 10 times higher than that indicated by Environmental Agency (EA) prosecutions. Hammond thinks only a tiny fraction of spills are self-reported. He also feels that there is weak regulation by the EA and a reluctance to prosecute. The water companies appear keener on profits, than they are about their environmental responsibility. Providing the loophole, was always going to ensure that this would be the case.