England Water Pollution At 10-year High, Campaigners Say

The number of contamination incidents recorded by h2o companies successful England is astatine a ten-year high, according to information obtained by campaigners.

Surfers Against Sewage said nan Environment Agency information showed nan number of incidents was much than double its target.

Such spills person nan imaginable to origin harm to wildlife and unwellness for group making usage of nan country's rivers and seas.

Water UK, nan manufacture assemblage representing UK h2o and sewage companies, said companies scheme to put £12bn to trim spills by nan extremity of nan decade.

As good arsenic reporting nan full number of sewage spills annually, biology regulator nan Environment Agency besides records nan number of contamination incidents, which are apt to origin superior harm to wildlife and people.

Eight years ago, nan EA remarked that nan h2o assemblage was not doing capable to trim these incidents. It said this was causing "distress to section communities and blighting rivers and beaches."

The manufacture was group a target to trim these incidents by 40% by 2025 against 2016 levels.

The latest publically availably information is to nan extremity of 2023. But pursuing a Freedom of Information request, Surfers Against Sewage obtained nan information up to nan commencement of 2025.

This showed that 2,487 contamination incidents were recorded past twelvemonth - a 31% summation connected nan 2016 levels, and almost double nan original EA target.

"The h2o manufacture fails, fails and fails again," said Giles Bristow, CEO of Surfers Against Sewage.

He called for a betterment of nan strategy truthful that it "prioritises nationalist wellness and worth for customer money and delivers patient coastlines, rivers and lakes."

Water UK responded to nan findings connected behalf of nan 9 companies responsible for handling sewage successful England.

"We person been clear that nan h2o strategy is not moving and support nan Independent Water Commission looking astatine each facet of really nan manufacture is regulated.

"However, nary sewage spill is ever acceptable and h2o companies are investing £12 cardinal to almost halve spills from large wind overflows by 2030," Water UK said.

Most of nan money for that finance is expected to travel from increases to h2o bills, which started to return effect this month.

The manufacture regulator Ofwat is allowing h2o companies to raise bills by an mean of £31 each twelvemonth complete nan adjacent 5 years - but those rises don't see inflation, which intends existent bills are apt to beryllium higher.

The Water Commission is an independent review, group up by nan government, to look astatine different ways of regulating nan manufacture pursuing accrued nationalist anger complete h2o institution performance.

Chairman Sir Jon Cunliffe, a erstwhile lawman politician of nan Bank of England, is inviting submissions from nan public until adjacent week.