Scottish Water has been criticised after it was revealed the publicly-owned firm has paid three executives almost £3 million since 2021.
According to the company’s annual reports, £2.9 million has been paid out in the past three years, including £1.1 million in bonuses.
In 2022 alone, according to the filings, £628,000 was paid to Douglas Millican, Alan Scott and Peter Farrer, which included a one-off long-term incentive payment worth six figures for each man.
The body has come under scrutiny in recent months from the Scottish Liberal Democrats, who have said the Scottish Government is letting the agency “off the hook” after it was revealed 50 of Scotland’s 89 bathing waters were deemed to contain unsafe levels of sewage.
Party leader Alex Cole-Hamilton said: “Under the SNP, failing to tackle Scotland’s sewage scandal is a multimillion-pound industry.
“It is utterly shameful that we have a Government-owned water company where execs pocket bumper bonuses while our rivers, lochs and coastlines are destroyed.
“We don’t even know the true scale of this destruction because only a pitiful fraction of sewage discharge points are properly monitored.
READ MORE: Nearly £1m in bonuses paid out to three Scottish Water execs
“Nobody should be rewarded for pumping sewage into our rivers and waterways.
“Nationalist ministers have become little more than spin doctors for the failing Government-owned water company and its outdated standards.
“To turn the tide on this scandal, Scottish Liberal Democrats have published plans for a Clean Water Act that would see vital updates to our sewage network and a clamp down on discharges.”
The figures also come as the body has been hit by strike action from workers, with unions accusing Scottish Water of being a “rogue employer”.
Some 86% of members of the GMB union and 89% represented by Unite voted for a walkout last month over a pay dispute.
READ MORE: Scottish Water – huge bonuses and still the stink of sewage?
A Scottish Government spokesperson said the pay of Scottish Water executives was in line with “public sector pay rules” and “the current remuneration package for the CEO and senior management is significantly smaller than that paid by comparable utilities, both in terms of salary and bonus incentives”.
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The spokesperson added: “Monitoring of Scotland’s rivers and coastal waters by the Scottish Environment Protection Agency shows that they are in good ecological condition with 87% classed as having ‘high’ or ‘good’ water quality, but we are determined to improve this further. The actions set out in Scottish Water’s Improving Urban Waters Routemap, and Sepa’s third River Basin Management Plan are key to achieving that.
“Scottish Water is also committing up to £500 million to improve water quality, increase monitoring of the highest priority waters and tackle debris and spills. However, it is important to note that overflows from sewers normally consist of around 99% rainwater and less than 1% toilet waste.”
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