Environment Agency increases checks on water companies in a bid to improve performance in the water industry
One of Northumbrian Water’s treatment works
Regulators uncovered almost 500 breaches of environmental rules by water companies in the North last year as they carried out a record number of inspections. The Environment Agency said it had expanded its inspections of treatment works, sewage pumping stations and storm overflows, completing more than 3,300 checks of water company assets belonging to United Utilities, Yorkshire Water and Northumbrian Water in the past year.
Inspection teams uncovered 495 permit condition breaches in the North, where companies are failing to comply with environmental legislation. More than 3,000 breaches were found nationally.
Helen Wakeham, director for water at the Environment Agency, said: “Inspections are a vital preventative measure, with our teams issuing over 3,000 individual actions to water companies, including repairing sewage works and upgrading infrastructure. Together, this will drive meaningful improvements in performance, hold persistent offenders to account and ultimately create a cleaner water environment.”
Water minister Emma Hardy added: “Thanks to our investment in the Environment Agency, inspectors are out in force, checking water company assets at unprecedented levels and taking action where standards aren’t met. This greater oversight of water companies coupled with our long-term reforms will prevent problems before they occur and ensure serial offenders are punished, ensuring a healthy, sustainable water system for the future.”
James Wallace, chief executive of campaign group River Action, said: “It is good to see the Government getting serious about water quality, but inspections alone will not fix the problem.
“With prosecutions taking years to reach court and fines far too low, water polluters are not being properly held to account. The upcoming Water Reform Bill is a once-in-a-generation opportunity to reset the system.”
Stephanie Pullan, director of asset management at Yorkshire Water, said: “We remain absolutely committed to achieving 100% compliance at all of our wastewater assets and welcome increased levels of oversight from our regulators. While many of the breaches identified were minor, we take all breaches seriously and act as quickly as possible to remediate any issue identified.
Yorkshire Water’s Naburn Sewage Treatment Works.(Image: Google Maps)
“We have clear plans in place to tackle compliance at our sites, which includes increasing our own inspections and the deployment of more technology to identify potential issues before they impact our operations or the environment.
A Northumbrian Water spokesperson said: “We welcome the Environment Agency’s inspections and work closely with them to make sure our wastewater sites continue to operate as they should.
“During these visits, no serious issues have been reported. Where actions are identified, they are usually minor, such as labelling or routine maintenance requirements, and low risk for pollution or environmental harm. We’re open with the Environment Agency and keep them updated as actions are completed.
“We’re committed to improving our performance and between 2025 and 2030 we are investing £1.7bn on environmental improvements. These are helping to reduce the number of spills from storm overflows and improve our coasts and rivers.”
A United Utilities spokesperson said: “We continue to work constructively and openly with the Environment Agency and our other regulators. We take proactive action whenever issues arise and continually strive to improve our operational performance. Our focus remains on delivering our environmental investment programme and meeting the high standards our customers and regulators rightly expect.”
