The crackdown comes as the regulator confirms it made 10,000 inspections nationwide over the past year, with more than 860 of those focused on South West Water’s wastewater network alone.
Inspectors uncovered a litany of issues: missing or broken screens designed to stop solid waste entering waterways, leaking pipes, cracked tanks and faulty monitoring equipment. In some cases, poorly maintained systems left chopped sewage at risk of spilling into rivers during storms, while blocked channels, overgrown vegetation and sludge pointed to wider neglect.
Despite the findings, 76% of sites were deemed compliant. But more than 250 actions have now been issued to force improvements, with further enforcement still on the table.
The surge in scrutiny marks a dramatic ramp-up in oversight. Inspection activity on South West Water assets, including sewage treatment works and storm tanks, has jumped by 125% in a year as regulators intensify efforts to clamp down on pollution and tighten compliance.
Officials say the inspections are a critical line of defence, designed not just to catch problems, but to prevent environmental damage before it happens.
Clarissa Newell, Environment Agency water industry manager for Devon and Cornwall, said: “These inspections are not new. They are essential health checks of the vital infrastructure that supplies clean drinking water and proper sewer systems.
“Officers have become frequent visitors to water company sites that perform essential jobs, their findings resulting in increased spending on improvements, modernised permits and even site pride.
“That said, when a serious fault is found then enforcement will always remain an option to putting that right.”
At a national level, regulators say the tougher approach is already biting. More than 3,000 corrective actions have been issued across the water industry, targeting failing sewage works and outdated infrastructure.
Helen Wakeham, Environment Agency’s director for water said: “In our role as regulators of the water industry, we are changing how we operate – with better data, our largest ever enforcement workforce and greater powers to do our job effectively.
“Inspections are a vital preventative measure, with our teams nationally issuing over 3,000 actions to water companies, including repairing sewage works and upgrading their infrastructure.
“Together, this will drive meaningful improvements in performance, hold persistent offenders to account and ultimately create a cleaner water environment.”
While many breaches were classed as minor, regulators warn they still signal deeper concerns about how assets are maintained. Even small lapses must be fixed, and more serious failings could trigger investigations, prosecutions or tougher enforcement action.
Behind the scenes, the inspection drive is also feeding a growing intelligence picture, helping the Environment Agency track patterns of non-compliance and sharpen its regulatory grip on the sector.
With more staff, tighter monitoring of storm overflows and £22.1 billion in planned infrastructure investment over the next five years, authorities say the message is clear: the era of light-touch oversight is over, and water companies are under the microscope.
