Warning for Anglian, Southern, Thames and Yorkshire waters | United Kingdom | News

Most of England’s nine water and sewerage companies are “failing to meet fundamental principles”, the environmental watchdog has warned.

Four operators were responsible for 90% of serious pollution incidents last year, the Environment Agency (EA) said.

Anglian Water, Southern Water, Thames Water and Yorkshire Water have been identified for their “unacceptable” performance.

EA chairman Alan Lovell said: “This is unacceptable.”

“I feel frustration and disappointment above all,” he added. “The results we are seeing are, once again, simply not satisfactory.”

The watchdog added: “The majority [of water companies] continue to underperform because they fail to meet fundamental principles, such as reducing pollution incidents and complying with permits.

According to the report, 2,174 spills were recorded at sanitation and water company facilities, the highest number since 2019.

Serious pollution incidents increased from 44 to 47 a year earlier, the EA said.

The regulator said five out of nine firms in England were rated as “requiring improvement” in its annual report.

This includes Thames Water, the UK’s largest water supplier, which has come under fire in recent months over pollution and financial difficulties.

Richard Benwell, CEO of Wildlife and Countryside Link, said: “As reports of pollution continue to rise and companies continue to fail to comply with permits, it is time to hold water and sewerage companies to account for their environmental performance.

“The government should introduce strong ‘polluter pays’ measures to ensure big polluters cannot afford to break the rules and businesses pay their fair share to restore nature.”

Severn Trent Water has been given the highest possible environmental status by regulators despite being fined £2m for sewage discharges this year.

The annual report said there had been a “slight improvement” in environmental protection among some companies, with Severn Trent, Wessex Water and United Utilities performing well.

A spokesperson for Water UK, the industry’s trade association, said: “While today’s results show that water companies’ overall environmental performance has improved, it is clear that there is still much to do.

“The performance of some companies, as they acknowledge, is not improving quickly enough and pollution incidents remain too high.

“Water companies have proposed investing a record £105 billion to secure our water supply for the future and stop sewage entering our rivers and seas. Ofwat must approve these plans in full, as failure to deliver would jeopardise crucial improvements.”