The Environment Agency has published its annual report on the environmental performance of England’s nine water and sewerage companies during 2023.
The report shows an improvement in star ratings under the Environmental Performance Assessment (EPA), but the majority of companies continue to underperform.
The EPA is the only independent comparison of environmental performance across the sector. Since 2011, the Environment Agency has used the EPA to rate each company in England from 1 star to 4 stars.
The aim of the report is to highlight where improvement in water company performance is required and push for continuous improvement across the sector.
This year, five water companies are rated as requiring improvement (2 stars), one company is rated as good (3 stars) and three companies achieved 4 stars.
In his foreword, Alan Lovell, Chair of the Environment Agency, said:
“My over-riding sense is one of frustration and disappointment. The results we see are, yet again, simply not good enough.
“The good news is that three companies achieved the maximum four EPA stars compared to one in 2022 – Severn Trent Water, Wessex Water and United Utilities. Credit to Severn Trent for achieving this for the fifth year running. But the performance of most companies lags far behind. We are seeing polarised performance as shown by the number of serious pollution incidents. Over 90% were caused by four water companies – Anglian Water, Southern Water, Thames Water and Yorkshire Water. This is unacceptable.”
- Severn Trent Water – 4 stars, the same as the previous year
- United Utilities – 4 stars, up from 3 stars
- Wessex Water – 4 stars, up from 2 stars
- Northumbrian Water – 3 stars, the same as the previous year
- Anglian Water – 2 stars, the same as the previous year
- Southern Water – 2 stars, the same as the previous year
- South West Water – 2 stars, the same as the previous year
- Thames Water – 2 stars, the same as the previous year
- Yorkshire Water –2 stars, down from 3 stars
Key environmental performance facts for 2023
- There was a small improvement in star ratings with some water companies meeting the EA’s metric targets consistently in this EPA period so far (since 2021) – however the majority continue to underperform as they are not getting the basics right, such as minimising pollution incidents and achieving permit compliance
- The number of serious pollution incidents (category 1 and 2) increased to 47, remaining unacceptably high and not trending towards zero. This was mainly due to the performance of three water companies, Thames Water, Southern Water and Anglian Water, who accounted for 38 of the 47
- For the serious pollution incident EPA metric, Northumbrian Water and Severn Trent Water had zero incidents, however four water companies performed significantly below target (red). Numbers are dominated by serious pollution incidents from the assets of Anglian Water, Southern Water and Thames Water, with Yorkshire Water also rated red
- Total pollution incidents from sewerage and water supply assets (category 1 to 3) increased to 2,174 – the second consecutive annual increase and highest number recorded since 2019
- Total pollution incidents from sewerage assets increased to 1,902 with no water company achieving target (green), the first time for any metric since the EPA began in 2011. Southern Water and South West Water continued to perform significantly below target (red) with Anglian Water also rated red
- Self-reporting of all pollution incidents by water companies was 84%, and 93% for just pumping stations (PS) and sewage treatment works (STW) combined. This was the best since the EPA began, however three water companies performed below target (amber) including a notable deterioration by Southern Water
- 98.8% of STW and water treatment works (WTW) were compliant with numeric permit conditions for discharging treated wastewater. Six water companies achieved target (green), the poor performance of three water companies, including South West Water (the only red water company), means the sector is not improving
- For the satisfactory sludge use and disposal EPA metric, all water companies performed better than target (green)
- For the Water Industry National Environment Programme (WINEP) EPA metric 99.2% of planned environmental improvement schemes were completed. Three water companies failed to meet all requirements within planned deadlines (Thames Water rated red, Anglian Water and South West Water rated amber)
- For the Supply Demand Balance Index (SDBI) EPA metric all water companies achieved target (green)
Water supply only companies, and companies providing localised water supply and sewerage services are not covered in the report.
To read the report in full, click here.
