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Serious water sewage spills surge by 60% in a year as 'shoddy firms' blasted

Last year, 75 category 1 and 2 incidents were recorded and that was up from 47 the previous year and watchdog considers these events to have a serious or persistent impact on environment

[This will apply to Thames Water amongst others]

The increase applies to Thames Water amongst others

The number of serious pollution incidents caused by water firms across England rose by 60% in 2024 compared with the previous year, the Environment Agency said.

The watchdog revealed consistently poor performance from all nine water and sewerage firms in the country despite expectations for incidents to decrease.

Every year, the Environment Agency assesses pollution incidents from water firms into categories, with category 1 (major) and category 2 (significant) being the most serious.

The watchdog considers these events to have a serious or persistent impact on the environment, such as damage to ecosystems, the loss of wildlife and harm to human health.

Last year, 75 category 1 and 2 incidents were recorded, up from 47 the previous year.

Three water firms were responsible for 81% of these serious incidents, which were Thames Water with 33, Southern Water with 15 and Yorkshire Water with 13.

Meanwhile, just two companies - Northumbrian Water and Wessex Water - had no serious incidents last year, meeting the Environment Agencies expectations to see a trend to zero pollution incidents by 2025.

Overall, the watchdog said all pollution incidents increased by 29% with water companies recording 2,801, up from 2,174 in 2023.

The data comes before the publication of a landmark review of the water industry on Monday, led by Sir John Cunliffe, who will outline his recommendations to the Government on tackling the sectors performance.

It also follows a report released by the Public Accounts Committee yesterday (Fri), in which the cross-bench group of MPs called the level of pollution woeful and called for an overhaul of the regulation system.

The Environment Agency said it was clear some companies are failing to meet the targets it has set on pollution.

It attributed the rise in pollution incidents last year to persistent underinvestment in new infrastructure, poor asset maintenance, and reduced resilience because of the impacts of climate change.

But it is understood the agency is still investigating the incidents and their causes more closely to understand the major increase from 2023, and decide on any action, particularly at Thames, which saw serious incidents double from 14 to 33.

An increasing trend in pollution spills from pipes carrying wastewater uphill emerged last year, accounting for 20% of the serious incidents, the watchdog said, adding that these affected some protected waters for wildlife and swimming.

The Environment Agency also carried out more inspections of firms last financial year at more than 4,000, meaning it also discovered more non-compliance from firms, with 24% of sites breaching their permits.

Alan Lovell, chairman of the Environment Agency said: This report demonstrates continued systemic failure by some companies to meet their environmental targets.

The water industry must act urgently to prevent pollution from occurring and to respond rapidly when it does.

We have made significant changes to tighten our regulation of the water industry and ensure companies are held to account.

With a dedicated larger workforce and increased funding, our officers are uncovering and acting on failures to comply with environmental law.

Environment Secretary Steve Reed called the figures disgraceful and a stark reminder of how underinvestment and weak regulation have led to sewage polluting Englands waterways.

In just one year, this new Government has banned unfair bonuses for polluting water bosses, brought in jail sentences for pollution, and secured 104 billion to upgrade crumbling sewage pipes - one of the biggest infrastructure investments in history, he said.

Next week the Independent Water Commission will recommend changes to strengthen the rules so we can clean up our rivers, lakes and seas for good.

James Wallace, chief executive of River Action, said the figures expose a brutal truth.

Serious pollution incidents are rising, sewage discharges remain rampant, and our rivers are spiralling toward ecological collapse, he said.

This is not just regulatory failure; it is a national disgrace.

He added that the most egregious polluter Thames Water should be put into special administration to start the reset.

A Water UK spokesperson said: While there have been some improvements, it is clear that the performance of some companies is not good enough.

This is finally being put right, with a record 104 billion investment over the next five years to secure our water supplies, support economic growth and end sewage entering our rivers and seas.

However, fundamental change to regulation is also needed. We hope that the recommendations of the Independent Water Commission next week will ensure the sector continues to get the investment it needs to drive down pollution incidents.

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