'Brutal truth' of serious pollution incidents by water companies revealed
This included 75 incidents classified as being able to harm human health.
The Environment Agency report revealed consistently poor performance from all nine water and sewerage firms in the country.
James Wallace, chief executive of River Action, said the figures 'expose a brutal truth' as "serious pollution incidents are rising, sewage discharges remain rampant and our rivers are spiralling toward ecological collapse.
'This is not just regulatory failure, it is a national disgrace.'
What did the report say?
Every year the Environment Agency records the number of times pollution, including untreated sewage, is released into waterways from water company infrastructure such as pumping stations, pipes and treatment works.
The new figures, released on Friday, show companies recorded a total of 2,801 incidents last year, up from 2,174 in 2023.
The regulator splits these incidents into categories, with category 1 (major) and category 2 (significant) considered the most serious in terms of their 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: 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 Agency's expectations to see a trend to zero serious pollution incidents by 2025.
The Environment Agency attributed the rise in incidents last year to persistent underinvestment in new infrastructure, poor asset maintenance and reduced resilience because of the impacts of climate change.
Chair Alan Lovell said the figures demonstrate "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."
Lovell added the agency has increased the size of its workforce to "tighten our regulation" of the industry.
Water UK, the trade association for the water industry, said "the performance of some companies is not good enough" but pointed to £104bn of investment over the next five years to "end sewage entering our rivers and seas".
What next?
The data comes before the publication of a landmark review of the water industry on Monday.
Led by Sir John Cunliffe, he will outline recommendations to the government on tackling the sector's environmental and financial performance.
It also follows a report released by the House of Commons Public Accounts Committee on Friday, in which a cross-bench group of MPs called the level of pollution 'woeful' and recommended an overhaul of the regulation system.
Read more
System of regulating water firms needs complete overhaul, MPs warn (PA Media)
Thames Water boss receives £1m despite doubling in 'serious' pollution (The Standard)
How one water company has gone 30 years without a hosepipe ban (Yahoo News UK)
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