Fourfold increase in water company inspections to hold companies
to account.
Includes up to 500 additional staff for inspections, enforcement
and stronger regulation over the next three years, with
recruitment already underway.
Part of a tougher regime fully funded by government and water
company permits.
Water company inspections will more than quadruple as the
Government cracks down on poor performing
companies, under plans announced today (20
February).
In recent months, robust steps have been made under the
Plan for Water with all 15,000 storm overflows
now monitored and the cap on civil penalties for
pollution removed. Last week, Defra went further in
announcing that water bosses are set to be banned from
receiving bonuses if a company has committed serious criminal
breaches.
The Environment Agency (EA) is
already ramping up inspections on water company assets, with over
930 completed this financial year. Today’s announcement goes
further as water company inspections carried out by the EA will
rise to 4000 a year by the end of March 2025, and then to 10,000
from April 2026. This will include an increase in unannounced
inspections – strengthening oversight of water companies and
reducing the reliance on water company self-monitoring, which was
established in 2009.
Increased inspections and
enforcement will be backed by around £55 million each year. This
will be fully funded through increased grant-in-aid from Defra to
the Environment Agency and additional funding from water quality
permit charges levied on water companies, subject to a public consultation
closing in March 2024.
Environment Secretary
said:
“We are clear that we need to
get much tougher with unannounced inspections to bring an end to
the routine lawbreaking we have seen from water companies, which
is what this announcement will deliver.
“We are going further to quadruple the
Environment Agency’s regulatory capacity – allowing them to carry
out 4,000 water company inspections by the end of the next
financial year.”
Environment Agency
Chair Alan Lovell said:
“Last year we set out measures
to transform the way we regulate the water industry to uncover
non-compliance and drive better performance.
“Today’s announcement builds on
that. Campaign groups and the public want to see the Environment
Agency better resourced to do what it does best, regulate for a
better environment.
“Proposals to get extra boots
on the ground to increase inspection visits will help further
strengthen our regulation of the
industry.”
With 100% of storm overflows
now monitored, data-driven analytics will also help the
Environment Agency map discharges against rainfall more
effectively so they can quickly direct new specialist officers to
any sites at risk, identify any non-compliance and take
action.
The EA is already conducting
the largest ever criminal investigation into potential widespread
non-compliance by water and sewerage companies at thousands of
sewage treatment works. Since 2015, the EA has concluded 59
prosecutions against water and sewerage companies securing fines
of over £150 million.
Today’s announcement builds on
the recent improvements the government has delivered to the water
environment, including:
- 100% of storm overflows in England are now monitored -
providing a complete picture of when and where sewage spills
happen.
- Removing the cap on civil penalties for water companies and
broadening their scope so swifter action can be taken against
those who pollute our waterways.
- Increased protections for coastal and estuarine waters by
expanding the Storm Overflow Discharge Reduction Plan,
prioritising bathing waters, sites of special scientific interest
and shellfish waters.
- Requiring the largest infrastructure programme in water
company history - £60 billion over 25 years – to revamp aging
assets and reduce the number of sewage spills by hundreds of
thousands every year.
- Providing £10 million in support for farmers to store more
water on their land through the Water Management Grants to
support food production and improve water
security.
- Speeding up the process of building key water supply
infrastructure, including more reservoirs and water transfer
schemes.
