Sewage permit compliance tests carried out by the Environment Agency (EA) are set to hit a 12-year low despite a record level of spills in waterways across England, i can reveal.
Testing conducted on discharges from sewage treatment sites between 1 January to 1 October this year was at its lowest rate since 2012, according to data analysed by i.
If testing continues at the same rate for the remainder of the year (between 2 October and 31 December, 2024), then fewer tests will be conducted than any year since 2012, when 9,892 tests were conducted in that period.
Investigators measured 31,687 samples between 1 January and 1 October this year – a drop of almost 2,600, or eight per cent, compared with the same period in 2023.
It is the lowest number in the first nine months of any year since 2012.
The tests are vital for checking whether treated sewage meets the legal requirements of firms’ environmental permits.
Anger is growing over sewage discharges into England’s rivers and seas – with a record 3.6 million hours of spills in 2023, compared to 1.75 million in 2022.
Campaigners have criticised rules introduced in 2010 which mean water companies in England are responsible for telling the EA about pollution from their own treatment works. Activists say this allows firms to “mark their own homework”.
The EA insists it is stepping up monitoring by recruiting 500 additional staff, but that the number of tests carried out is dependent “on the number of incidents reported to us”.
James Wallace, chief executive of the River Action campaign group, said: “This drop in water quality sampling emphasises the urgent need for the new government to get a grip of regulation.
“Reliable water quality data provides essential evidence for successfully penalising and prosecuting polluting water companies.”
Overall, the watchdog’s testing of water pollution in rivers and seas hit a six-year low in 2023.
In total, the EA took 34,592 samples testing for dangerous pollutants and chemicals last year.
This was a seven per cent drop on 2022, and the lowest since 33,112 tests were carried out in 2017.
The figure excludes 2020, where the number of pollution tests was dramatically reduced due to Covid lockdowns.
Once in rivers and seas, sewage can be toxic to fish and other wildlife, and the phosphorus it contains can fuel algal blooms that starve plants and animals of light and oxygen. Sewage-contaminated water is also linked to human illnesses, from stomach upsets to E.coli infections.
The EA carries out water quality tests across England to check pollution levels and ensure water firms are complying with their sewage permits at more than 6,000 treatment plants. Separate bodies are responsible for testing in Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland.
The watchdog’s funding was slashed under the Conservative government, with its Environmental Protection Grant being cut from £152m in 2010-11 to £70m in 2018-19.
For 2024-25, the funding stands at £159m, still a 30 per cent real-terms cut compared to 2010-11.
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i‘s Save Britain’s Rivers campaign has called for increased government funding so the EA can do its job and protect waterways.
Mr Wallace backed the plea and said the Government must “return the funding removed by the previous government to the Environment Agency so it can properly monitor polluters and enforce the law”.
Elliot Chapman-Jones, head of public affairs for The Wildlife Trusts, said: “Public bodies that carry out water testing and other vital environmental duties must be sufficiently supported to do their job.
“Unfortunately, massive cuts to the Environment Agency over the past decade have undermined its enforcement powers, which has contributed to the dire state of rivers.”
Sienna Somers, senior nature campaigner at Friends of the Earth, said: “For more than a decade we’ve seen brutal cuts to the Environment Agency’s budget, effectively giving water companies free rein to pollute as the body has struggled to monitor water quality accurately. Even ministers are in the dark about the true extent of water pollution and our failing rivers.
“With the autumn Budget approaching, it would be scandalous to see any further cuts levelled at our environmental regulators, especially the Environment Agency. Our rivers are in crisis – we urgently need to see more funding for monitoring and reporting so that water companies can be held to account for their systematic failures.”
Sewage breaches rise despite testing drop
Despite a falling number of tests, the number of recorded breaches of sewage permits by water companies has been rising in recent years.
Permit breaches recorded by the EA peaked at 2,102 last year, having risen from 819 in 2020, to 1,583 in 2021, and 1,841 in 2022.
So far his year, the EA has recorded 1,845 breaches, 161 of which had a serious impact on “human health, quality of life or the environment”.
What are Water Quality Permits?
Water Quality Permits allow water firms to release sewage into waterways from their treatment centres, setting out conditions on how they must treat wastewater before it is discharged into the environment.
The permits also outline when water companies can dump untreated sewage into bodies of water, something firms are allowed to do during periods of exceptional rainfall to prevent it from backing up into people’s homes.
Permits for treatment plants can also include limits on the level of pollutants, such as phosphorus or ammoniacal nitrogen, that can be discharged into the environment. These pollutants can prove deadly to aquatic life if found in high quantities.
They apply to the management of wastewater treatment plants, pumping stations and the pipes in their network through which they are allowed to spill sewage, known as combined sewer overflows (CSOs).
While the EA’s Environmental Protection Grant from the government covers much of its activities, the watchdog raises money to enforce its rules on sewage permits through a Water Quality Charge on water and sewerage companies.
A consultation earlier this year set out plans to increase the charge to bolster the EA’s enforcement of permits at sewage treatment sites.
Figures obtained by i through a Freedom of Information request reveal that funding is set to increase from £77m in 2023-24 to £117m in 2024-25.
“We take action in response to every permit breach and if water companies fail to act on our warnings and advice, we will investigate and take enforcement action,” an EA spokesperson said.
What has the water industry said?
A Water UK spokesperson said that, despite the high number of permit breaches recorded in recent years, “water company compliance is extremely high, with around 99 per cent of sewage treatment works and 97 per cent of storm overflows meeting their permits.
“Nonetheless no sewage spill is ever acceptable. Water companies have proposed investing a record £105bn to ensure the security of our water supply in the future and end sewage entering our rivers and seas. Ofwat needs to approve these plans in full so we can get on with it.”
Last year, data obtained by the charity WildFish found the Environment Agency failed to carry out an in-person inspection at 90 per cent of reported water pollution incidents in 2022.
Environmental campaigners want the Government to conduct a “root and branch review” of how the water industry is regulated, claiming the watchdog isn’t tackling rising pollution.
Among its measures to tackle the sewage crisis, Labour has vowed new laws forcing water companies to cover the cost of any investigation into them, which would significantly boost the EA’s resources.
Water company bosses could also face up to two years in prison if they obstruct water pollution investigations under the Water (Special Measures) Bill, which was brought before Parliament last month.
An EA spokesperson said: “Sampling is just one of the ways in which we assess compliance and impact on the environment, with the levels of testing varying yearly based on the number of incidents reported to us.
“Since the end of last year, 100 per cent of storm overflows are now monitored – increasing our understanding of compliance and ability to hold water companies to account.
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“We are also transforming our approach to the way we regulate, recruiting up to 500 additional staff, increasing compliance checks, quadrupling the number of water company inspections by March next year, and increasing our attendance to water pollution incidents.”
A Defra spokesperson said: “For too long, water companies have pumped record levels of sewage into our rivers, lakes and seas.
“That’s why we are placing water companies under special measures through the Water Bill, which will strengthen regulation including new powers to ban the payment of bonusses for polluting water bosses and bring criminal charges against persistent law breakers.
“We are also carrying out a full review of the water sector to shape further legislation that will transform how our water system works and clean up rivers, lakes and seas for good.”
How does the Environment Agency monitor England’s water ?
Sewage permit compliance
The Environment Agency monitors water companies’ compliance with sewage permits by taking samples from storm overflow discharges, crude sewage and treated sewage effluent at water treatments plans and elsewhere in the sewer network.
Since 2010, companies have undertaken Operator Self Monitoring (OSM). It means that the companies are responsible for checking they are not in breach of their environmental permits, and for reporting any illegal spills to the EA.
It means the EA’s annual testing of sewage permit compliance is affected by the number of reports from water companies, as well as its own investigations.
Pollution monitoring
The watchdog takes samples from seas, rivers, lakes, ponds, canals and groundwaters across England to monitor pollution levels and investigate reports of incidents.
The level of potentially harmful chemicals, such as phosphates, nitrogen and ammonia, are checked, as well as the amount of faecal bateria such as E.coli – all of which can originate from sewage.
Pollution incidents are divided into four categories from category one (most serious) to category four (little to no impact).
Some of the measures laid out in the manifesto will be introduced in the new Water Bill, such as tougher powers for the regulator Ofwat and increased prosecutions against water companies.
i‘s Save Britain’s Rivers campaign has been calling on the Government to sign up to a manifesto of five pledges to help the country’s rivers recover from decades of pollution.
It urges ministers to overhaul Ofwat and provide more funding for the Environment Agency to allow it to do its job properly.
Some of Labour’s pledges to date align with i‘s manifesto, including plans to introduce tougher penalties and restrict bonuses. However, the Government is yet to meet all i‘s demands, including increased funding for the regulator and farmers.
1. RIVER HEALTH: 77 per cent rivers in good health by 2027
What i says: Within its first six months in power, the Government must publish a roadmap on how the UK is going to achieve its legal target of 77 per cent of rivers being in good ecological health by 2027. This must include increased funding for the Environment Agency.
What Labour says: Under the new legislation, water companies will have to cover the costs for any investigation into them, which will significantly improve resourcing for the Environment Agency. Officials have refused to put a timeline on bringing the waterways back into health, but have said it will take years to improve.
2. SEWAGE: Sewage spills will not damage high-priority areas – including bathing spots and nature sites – by 2030
What i says: Untreated sewage should not be causing damage to high-priority sites (bathing spots, protected nature sites, National Parks and chalk streams) by 2030. Water companies who fail to meet this target will be prosecuted.
What Labour says: While there is no specific target relating to high-priority sites, the Government has announced plans to imprison water executives if they persistently obstruct investigations into sewage spills, which is a dramatic strengthening of regulators’ powers.
3. WATCHDOG: Regulators will stop water companies destroying the environment in pursuit of profit
What i says: The Government must publish a plan to reform the regulation of water companies, including tougher powers for Ofwat to restrict dividends and bonuses for underperforming water companies. A “green duty” will be placed on Ofwat, which will force the regulator to place greater emphasis on the environment when making decisions over companies’ business plans.
What Labour says: It has set out plans under its new Water (Special Measures) Bill that will hand the Environment Agency and the Drinking Water Inspectorate powers to bring criminal charges, which could lead to two years in jail for water bosses. It will also impose automatic and severe fines for wrongdoing. Ofwat has already been asked to ensure customers are refunded if infrastructure money is not spent, so that it cannot be diverted to pay for bonuses or dividends. Labour has not committed to a “green duty” for Ofwat.
4. BATHING: Create 100 clean bathing spots in rivers by 2030
What i says: 100 clean bathing spots must be created in England by the end of the parliament, and the Environment Agency must start monitoring water quality throughout the year at these sites.
What Labour says: The Government has not mentioned bathing spots specifically, but there are further plans to look at water regulation at a more localised level.
5. FARMING: Farmers must be funded to improve water quality, and face enforcement action if they damage the environment
What i says: Within its first year in power, the Government should strengthen its Environmental Land Management scheme so farmers are given more grants, support and advice to undertake activities that will improve water quality.
What Labour says: It says it will ensure “environment land management schemes work for farmers and nature”, but is yet to provide more detail on what that will entail. Environment Secretary Steve Reed will set out plans to further legislation that will seek to deal with agricultural run off into the waterways.
