The bosses of water companies that pollute waterways could go to prison under a new law the British government says will help clean up the country’s sewage-clogged rivers, lakes and beaches.

A bill introduced in Parliament on Thursday will give regulators the ability to ban bonuses for executives of polluting firms and bring criminal charges against lawbreakers, with the possibility of up to two years’ imprisonment for executives who obstruct investigations.

The state of Britain’s waterways made a stink during the campaign for a July 4 national election. For critics of the Conservative Party that had been in office since 2010, dirty water was a pungent symbol of Britain’s aging infrastructure and the effects of privatization of essential utilities.