Water companies face flood of FoI-style requests after landmark legal case

Water companies face a flood of Freedom of Information (FoI) style requests following a landmark legal case, according to a legal expert.

Speaking to Utility Week, Joanna Boag-Thomson, partner at law firm Shepherd and Wedderburn, said a recent landmark legal ruling “may open the flood gates for EIR requests” and that the water companies “require a change in attitude” when it comes to dealing with them.

“They will have to be prepared to release a lot more environmental information than they have been inclined to do so in the past,” she added.

A hearing at the Administrative Appeals Chamber of the Upper Tribunal at the end of February ruled that privatised water companies are public authorities and are therefore obliged to provide a right of access to environmental information under European Environmental Information Regulations (EIRs).

Consumer Council for Water chief executive Tony Smith hailed the decision and said: “Water companies should embrace this ruling as an opportunity to be transparent with their customers – after all, they do provide an essential public service.”

Cases featuring United Utilities (UU), Yorkshire Water, and Southern Water were all referred to the tribunal in 2012 after the information commissioner originally ruled the companies were deemed to be public authorities. The companies originally denied this.

The judge stated the water companies are public authorities as a result of their “special powers” – including the ability to lay pipes, enter land, and impose hosepipe bans – and because of this they have to conform to the EIR.

In a statement, UU said: “We welcome the clarity that the court has provided. This case was never about whether we were prepared to release environmental information to the public – we do that all the time, and have a great reputation for transparency.

“We do not agree with the court’s ruling, but will of course abide by it, will now go away and read it in detail and assess the implications.”

In a statement, Yorkshire Water said: “Prior to the judgment, every court or regulator that water companies had approached had agreed with their view that they were not public authorities. We were fully supportive of the action as bringing clarity to the industry and interested parties on this complex area of law.”

Yorkshire Water also stated it has voluntarily answered EIR requests since 2011 “as part of our normal customer service”.

Southern Water declined to comment.