Water Industry National Environment Programme (WINEP)
What is the WINEP?
The Water Industry National Environment Programme (WINEP) is a large regulatory framework that outlines the environmental obligations for water companies. It is developed by the Environment Agency (EA), Defra, Natural England (NE) and Ofwat. It sets out the water industry’s contribution to delivering the wider national objectives for the natural environment as set out in the River Basin Management Plans (RBMPs) and other statutory plans. It is the most important programme of environmental investment in England; it consists of investing £22.1bn of asset improvements, investigations, monitoring, and catchment interventions.
Key aspects of WINEP include:
- Methodology: The WINEP methodology sets out the process for designing, developing, and delivering environmental projects using data and evidence from the Environment Agency, Natural England and water companies to inform where action is required.
- Outcomes-Based Approach: WINEP uses a tiered approach to link specific actions to broader environmental outcomes, such as improving water quality and enhancing biodiversity
- Read about the WINEP methodology
Integration with Price Review
WINEP projects are funded through the Price Review process, ensuring that water companies have the necessary resources to meet their environmental obligations. This process is informed by data and evidence from EA, NE and water companies to identify where action is needed.
What does this mean for the environment?
Over the next 5 years, through delivery of the WINEP, we estimate the following outputs and outcomes. Please note this is not exhaustive. These will be refined further during the WINEP delivery period :
- Approximately 13,500km of river waterbody estimated to be enhanced or protected.
- Reduction in phosphorous inputs to the environment at over 800 sewage treatment works resulting in approximately 33% reduction in load discharged. In terms of total phosphorus removed this will equate to 2,380 tonnes per annum reduction.
- Approximately 2,350 storm overflows are expected to be improved. This is expected to result in an estimated annual reduction of approximately 85,000 spills.
- 3,500 Event Duration Monitors will be installed on Emergency Overflows. This implements a 2-minute frequency monitoring regime and should provide greater insight into the number and duration of spills that are occurring at these assets.
- Installation of approximately 3,500 continuous water quality monitors. These monitors will allow sewerage undertakers to better assess the impact of discharges from their assets on the receiving watercourse, resulting in targeted investigation and improvement programmes.
- Over 60 million litres per day are estimated to be retained in the environment as a result of abstraction licence reduction or cessation. A further 200 million litres per day removed from licences to protect the water environment from increased abstraction to reduce risk of deterioration. In total the estimated changes to abstraction to protect the environment equates to the volume of water required to supply 2,500,000 people (approximately equivalent to the West Midlands conurbation).
- Approximately 54 improvements to benefit fish include removing structures, creating bypass channels, installing technical fish passes, and a further 41 actions to improve diversion structures or addressing barriers to the passage of eel (for example building and maintaining eel passes).
Data Services Platform
View the WINEP data on our Data Services Platform
WINEP Interactive Map
In January 2025, we secured record environmental investment through the Price Review process for water companies and the 2025–2030 Water Industry National Environment Programme (WINEP).
We know how important it is to feel confident investment is being delivered in the right place and at the right time. In collaboration with Ofwat and water companies, we have produced an interactive map which shows where actions such as installing monitoring systems and making infrastructure improvements to protect and enhance the environment - are planned. It supports our wider work to strengthen regulation through increased inspections, digital tools and enhanced enforcement and our commitment to transparency.
The map will be updated annually, providing a clear, visual insight into local environmental improvements and long-term water company action. Read all about latest updates - including a number of key changes we have made to make the map more accessible.
Demonstration video:
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Your local waters. A clearer picture.
We know how much rivers, lakes and coasts matter to the communities around them and people want to understand what is being done to improve them and what water company investment means locally. Our interactive Water Industry National Environment Programme (WINEP) map shows where investment is planned and what actions are being taken to improve water quality. The original map was named Joint winner of the Making a Difference Award at the Government Geography Profession Award, but we wanted to make it even more useful. Since launching the map a year ago, we’ve added more data and locations and made the information clearer and easier to understand.
The Clear Waters partnership, of which we are a member, brings together regulators, consumer representatives, environmental groups, local government and the water sector to improve transparency about work to improve the water environment. This update supports the partnership’s action plan by making information about local investment and action easier to find and understand. Feedback from the Clear Waters network will help shape further improvements to the map.
WINEP sets out what water companies in England must do to meet their environmental obligations and improve the water environment.
For 2025 to 2030, £22.1 billion was secured for this work, from monitoring to infrastructure that protects and improves rivers, coasts, groundwater and the wider environment.
You can now explore more than 22,000 individual actions, using the map’s search and filters to focus on the places and types of work that matter to you. Filter by function, action type, completion status and planned due date to help you understand what is happening locally to improve water quality. We will update the map annually throughout the five-year period to demonstrate progress.
Around 475 actions cover a whole water company area or river catchment, rather than one specific place. These include projects to control invasive and non-native species. We have also included unfinished actions from the two previous investment periods, known as AMP6 and AMP7. This gives you a fuller picture of outstanding commitments, alongside the current programme. Where actions are late, we work with the water company to find out why and look to resolve the delay. Delivery counts towards each company's annual Environmental Performance Assessment (EPA) rating, and lower ratings have real reputational and financial consequences.
Completed action - upgrade to Hampstead Norreys Sewage Treatment WorksWe want the maps to be as accessible and easy to understand as possible so we’ve made the technical codes, which explain the legal or environmental reason for each action, a lot simpler.
We’ve also made changes to column headings across the dataset and map to be clearer and more meaningful to a wider audience. These may seem like small changes, but together they make a highly technical programme much easier to explore.
Investment must translate into action to improve water quality. By making commitments and progress easier to see, the map helps people hold water companies to account for delivery in the places they care about.