Sewage crisis: Four water companies ‘responsible for 90% of serious pollution incidents’ | Business News

The majority of England’s nine water and sewage companies “can’t get the basics right”, according to annual rankings that classify four operators as responsible for 90% of serious pollution incidents.

The Environment Agency (EA) report covering 2023 showed that 47 of the most serious pollution cases were recorded – up from 44 the previous year.

The EA said more than 90% of these were caused by Anglian Water, Southern Water, Thames Water and Yorkshire Water.

He said this fact has “polarized performance” across the sector as companies across the UK face pressure to cut raw materials. sewage discharges through high and long-awaited investments in its infrastructures.

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A total of 45 sites were found not to comply with national standards.

Storm overflows that reached capacity due to heavy rains were widely blamed by the industry for the increase in sewage pollution.

The companies argue that avoiding discharges would mean raw effluents would flow back into people’s homes.

Separate EA data covering 2023, released in March, showed spills in England’s rivers reached record levels last year.

Discharges of untreated sewage by water companies doubled, from 1.8 million hours in 2022 to a record 3.6 million, while 464,000 individual spills were recorded – up from 301,000.

On Tuesday, EA said only three companies met the conditions for its four-star performance rating.

• Severn Trent Water – 4 stars – no changes from 2022
• United Utilities – 4 stars, up from 3 stars
• Wessex Water – 4 stars, up from 2 stars
• Northumbrian Water – 3 stars, same as previous year
• Anglian Water – 2 stars, unchanged from 2022
• Southern Water – 2 stars, same as previous year
• South West Water – 2 stars, no change
• Thames Water – 2 stars, same as previous year
• Yorkshire Water – 2 stars, down from 3 stars

The election of the new government gave new impetus to the improvement effort.

Labor plans include harsher penalties for poor performance and the ability to block rewards for failure when annual bonuses and shareholder payments are due.

Ofwat, the industry regulator, is also gaining more powers.

It is currently investigating all wastewater companies in England and Wales over sewage leaks.

The watchdog is currently negotiating with companies their business plans for the years 2025-30.

One provisional determination at the beginning of this month completed invoices are expected to grow by an average of 21% in the period, reflecting the need for investments.

The final decision should be made in December.

All companies sought substantial bill increases, with Southern Water leading the way with a proposed increase of almost 73% over the five-year term.

Thames Waterwhich remains under threat of financial collapse and under government-controlled administration, wanted to impose a 42% increase.

Both Southern and Thames were among four companies in England assessed by the EA as having the worst performance in terms of pollution.

The body’s chairman, Alan Lovell, said: “For the nation to have cleaner rivers and seas, water companies must take responsibility for understanding the root cause of their problems.

“It is promising to see some companies starting to accept their responsibilities, but it is clear that the pace of improvement continues to be insufficient.

“We often tighten standards to promote better performance and make it clear that we expect all companies to achieve and, more critically, sustain better environmental performance.

“As part of this, we are undertaking our biggest-ever transformation in the way we regulate, recruiting up to 500 additional staff, increasing compliance checks and quadrupling the number of inspections of water companies by March next year.”