A report by the Environment Agency (EA) for 2023 revealed an increase in the most severe pollution incidents, rising to 47 from 44 the previous year. According to the EA, more than 90% of these incidents were attributed to Anglian Water, Southern Water, Thames Water, and Yorkshire Water.

The report highlighted a “polarised performance” within the sector as water companies across the UK face mounting pressure to reduce raw sewage discharges by investing in their infrastructure. Additionally, 45 sites were found to be non-compliant with national standards.

The industry has largely blamed storm overflows reaching capacity due to intense rainfall for the spike in sewage pollution.

Water companies argue that preventing discharges would have led to raw effluent backing up into people’s homes.

Separate data from the Environment Agency (EA) covering 2023, released in March, revealed that spills into England’s rivers reached record levels last year. The duration of untreated sewage discharges by water companies doubled from 1.8 million hours in 2022 to a record 3.6 million hours, with the number of individual spills rising from 301,000 to 464,000.

On Tuesday, the Environment Agency (EA) announced that only three firms met the criteria for its top four-star performance ranking:

Severn Trent Water – 4 stars, unchanged from 2022
United Utilities – 4 stars, up from 3 stars
Wessex Water – 4 stars, up from 2 stars
Northumbrian Water – 3 stars, unchanged from the previous year
Anglian Water – 2 stars, unchanged from 2022
Southern Water – 2 stars, unchanged from the previous year
South West Water – 2 stars, unchanged
Thames Water – 2 stars, unchanged from the previous year
Yorkshire Water – 2 stars, down from 3 stars
The new government has injected fresh momentum into efforts for improvement. Labour’s plans include stricter penalties for poor performance and the ability to block rewards for failure when it comes to annual bonuses and shareholder payouts.

Ofwat, the industry regulator, is also gaining more authority. It is currently investigating all wastewater companies in England and Wales over sewage spills. The watchdog is negotiating with firms on their business plans for 2025-2030.

An interim determination earlier this month concluded that bills should rise by an average of 21% over the period, reflecting the need for investment. A final determination is expected in December. All companies have proposed significant increases to bills, with Southern Water leading with a proposed rise of nearly 73% over the five-year term.

Thames Water, which faces the risk of financial collapse and potential government-controlled administration, proposed a 42% increase. Both Southern Water and Thames Water were among the four firms in England deemed by the EA to be the worst performers in terms of pollution.

EA Chair Alan Lovell stated, “For the nation to have cleaner rivers and seas, water companies must take responsibility and understand the root causes of their problems. While it is promising to see some companies starting to accept their responsibilities, the pace of improvement is still insufficient. We frequently tighten standards to drive better performance, and we have made it clear that we expect all companies to achieve and sustain better environmental performance. As part of this effort, we are undertaking our largest-ever transformation in regulation, hiring up to 500 additional staff, increasing compliance checks, and quadrupling the number of water company inspections by March next year.”