Serious water pollution incidents up 60% last year, watchdog reveals

The fig of astir superior h2o contamination incidents roseate by 60% past year, according to information covering England, with 3 companies liable for the bulk of them.

The Environment Agency (EA) - nether occurrence for its ain oversight of h2o firms' contamination show - said that much than 80% of the 75 instances were the work of Thames Water (33), Southern Water (15) and Yorkshire Water (13).

But the assemblage added it had recovered "consistently mediocre performance" crossed each 9 h2o and wastewater firms successful the state - a akin judgement to that of 2023.

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According to the report, reasons down the 2024 results included persistent underinvestment successful caller infrastructure, mediocre plus maintenance, and reduced resilience owed to the impacts of clime change.

Thames Water, which has astir 16 cardinal households connected its books and is struggling to enactment up its fiscal future, was fined a record £105m by the regulator Ofwat successful May for breaching wastewater rules.

The information was released arsenic a committee of MPs called for regularisation of h2o companies to look a "complete overhaul" amid a deficiency of nationalist spot and choler implicit surging bills to wage for agelong overdue infrastructure improvements.

The Public Accounts Committee said that Ofwat and the EA had failed to unafraid manufacture compliance and warned that adjacent the precocious measure settlements to 2030 would lone effect successful 44% of sewage overflows being overhauled.

The Independent Water Commission, established by the authorities past twelvemonth and led by erstwhile Bank of England lawman politician Sir Jon Cunliffe, is owed to marque last recommendations connected the regulatory model adjacent week.

He warned erstwhile the interim study was published past month: "There is nary simple, azygous change, nary substance however radical, that volition present the cardinal reset that is needed for the h2o sector."

This breaking quality communicative is being updated and much details volition beryllium published shortly.

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