A new government law will see unfair bonuses banned for six water companies in the UK, but South West Water is not one of them.

Under new rules, companies are not permitted to pay bonuses to water bosses that oversee poor environmental and customer outcomes.

The ban applies to Thames Water, Yorkshire Water, Anglian Water, Wessex Water, United Utilities and Southern Water, where bosses are not permitted to receive bonuses with immediate effect.

River action groups in Devon and Cornwall are baffled that South West Water has not been included in this new law.

Ken Finn, from the Tamar river action group Drip Drip, said: “As a group, we believe that the ban should apply to all water companies. Across the sector, the government’s stated view—that it is vital to attract top talent through high salaries and bonuses— has not been borne out by performance. The public are tired of seeing utilities that are free from meaningful market competition continue to deliver dividends to shareholders and reward failure with inflated executive pay.”

As well as advocacy, the group based in Calstock on the Cornish side of the Tamar Valley, take weekly samples from the River Tamar to test for E. coli and Enterococcus which indicate sewage pollution.

At some points the group found levels of bacterial pollution that were “off the scale” in the River Tamar.

Environment Secretary Steve Reed said: “Water company bosses, like anyone else, should only get bonuses if they’ve performed well, certainly not if they’ve failed to tackle water pollution.

“Undeserved bonuses will now be banned as part of the government’s plan to clean up our rivers, lakes and seas for good.

“Promise made, promise delivered.”

Water company bosses awarded themselves over £112 million in bonuses and incentive payments in the last decade.

Last year alone, £7.6 million in bonuses were paid to water bosses in England.