We have surpassed our target
Read our blog: 4000 inspections and counting: How we’re driving water industry performance(External link)
Aims of programme
The Water Industry Regulation Transformation Programme was launched in 2023. It sets out measures to transform the way we regulate the water industry to uncover non-compliance and drive better performance.
(External link)
World water tech innovation summit speech
'For society, a burst pipe flooding a street, a hosepipe ban, sewage on a beach, bring water in all its complexity into the public and political spheres.' Read the Environment Agency's Director of Water's speech from the Summit on learning(External link).
(External link)
Increasing capacity and improving capability
The water industry is underperforming, and it needs to change. We know that people want and deserve more for their water environment. We are meeting this challenge head on. What do we want to achieve(External link)?
Enforcement activity
The Environment Agency is responsible for enforcing laws that protect the environment. We aim to use our enforcement powers efficiently and effectively to secure compliance, contributing to our work to create better places for people and wildlife, and to support sustainable development.
We take our responsibility to protect the environment very seriously.
We have significantly driven up monitoring of water companies with new flow monitors being installed on more than 2,000 wastewater treatment works and 100% of storm overflows now monitored. We are also increasing regulation surrounding operator self-monitoring tests. From January, water companies must reschedule samples if there is a no flow event.
Where significant pollution incidents occur, we investigate and take action, to stop the pollution as quickly as possible, and then to take enforcement action where necessary. We are carrying out our largest ever criminal investigation into potential widespread non-compliance by water companies, recruiting up to 500 additional staff, increasing compliance checks and quadrupling the number of water company inspections by March next year.
(External link)Reasons for not achieving good status
There are multiple pressures on inland and coastal waters; the water industry is one of them and a major contributor’ Reasons for not achieving good status (RNAG) and reasons for deterioration (RFD) record the source, activity and sector(External link) involved in causing an element to be at less than good status.
(External link)Environmental performance assessment (EPA)
Every 5 years we review how we report on water company environmental performance(External link) and review the EPA. We deliberately tighten our metrics over time in response to investment made in industry assets and public expectation of better performance.
(External link)Water companies: operator self monitoring (OSM) environmental permits
This guide sets out the minimum standards(External link) water companies need to meet the requirements of OSM permit conditions.
This Event Duration Monitoring (EDM) dataset(External link) relates to the performance of storm overflows in England. Data are provided by Water and Sewerage Companies (WaSCs) to the Environment Agency each year as part of their regulatory Annual Return.
(External link)
Thank you for visiting our new water hub. This is a pilot service. We acknowledge not everything is covered here yet, this is a new offering which will grow over the coming months.
We have surpassed our target
Read our blog: 4000 inspections and counting: How we’re driving water industry performance(External link)
Aims of programme
The Water Industry Regulation Transformation Programme was launched in 2023. It sets out measures to transform the way we regulate the water industry to uncover non-compliance and drive better performance.
(External link)
World water tech innovation summit speech
'For society, a burst pipe flooding a street, a hosepipe ban, sewage on a beach, bring water in all its complexity into the public and political spheres.' Read the Environment Agency's Director of Water's speech from the Summit on learning(External link).
(External link)
Increasing capacity and improving capability
The water industry is underperforming, and it needs to change. We know that people want and deserve more for their water environment. We are meeting this challenge head on. What do we want to achieve(External link)?
Enforcement activity
The Environment Agency is responsible for enforcing laws that protect the environment. We aim to use our enforcement powers efficiently and effectively to secure compliance, contributing to our work to create better places for people and wildlife, and to support sustainable development.
We take our responsibility to protect the environment very seriously.
We have significantly driven up monitoring of water companies with new flow monitors being installed on more than 2,000 wastewater treatment works and 100% of storm overflows now monitored. We are also increasing regulation surrounding operator self-monitoring tests. From January, water companies must reschedule samples if there is a no flow event.
Where significant pollution incidents occur, we investigate and take action, to stop the pollution as quickly as possible, and then to take enforcement action where necessary. We are carrying out our largest ever criminal investigation into potential widespread non-compliance by water companies, recruiting up to 500 additional staff, increasing compliance checks and quadrupling the number of water company inspections by March next year.
(External link)Reasons for not achieving good status
There are multiple pressures on inland and coastal waters; the water industry is one of them and a major contributor’ Reasons for not achieving good status (RNAG) and reasons for deterioration (RFD) record the source, activity and sector(External link) involved in causing an element to be at less than good status.
(External link)Environmental performance assessment (EPA)
Every 5 years we review how we report on water company environmental performance(External link) and review the EPA. We deliberately tighten our metrics over time in response to investment made in industry assets and public expectation of better performance.
(External link)Water companies: operator self monitoring (OSM) environmental permits
This guide sets out the minimum standards(External link) water companies need to meet the requirements of OSM permit conditions.
This Event Duration Monitoring (EDM) dataset(External link) relates to the performance of storm overflows in England. Data are provided by Water and Sewerage Companies (WaSCs) to the Environment Agency each year as part of their regulatory Annual Return.
(External link)
Thank you for visiting our new water hub. This is a pilot service. We acknowledge not everything is covered here yet, this is a new offering which will grow over the coming months.
(External link)Event duration monitoring