This marked the highest level of breaches ever recorded by the Environment Agency (EA) and a nearly 50 per cent increase from 2023, when around 2,100 breaches were identified.
Campaigners described the findings as “a damning indictment of an industry which continues to put profits before the health of our rivers” and urged the Government to take bolder steps to tackle water pollution.
Despite the figures, a spokesperson for Water UK, the industry representative, said around 98 per cent of sewage treatment works and storm overflows meet their permits.
An EA spokesperson said the regulator is identifying “more breaches than ever before” because it is ramping up the number of water company inspections it carries out each year.
The largest number of breaches was recorded by Anglian Water (490), followed by United Utilities (474) and Severn Trent (378).
Half of the Category 1 breaches were made by Thames Water.
Another breach, also under investigation, occurred because Thames Water’s Wisley treatment works was “not managed to minimise the risk of pollution [and] not managed using sufficient competent persons and resources”, according to the EA.
Permit breaches by the water companies are illegal. The EA’s response can include guidance and warnings to enforcement action, such as fines.
“These findings are clear evidence of systemic negligence by the industry.
An independent commission was also launched in October to carry out what is set to be the biggest review of the water sector since it was privatised over 30 years ago.
“Our rivers cannot wait.”
“In 2021, WASP’s analyst, Professor Peter Hammond, started exposing serious and widespread illegality across water companies but the pathetic response by the regulators and government has taught them they can keep making money by breaking the law.
In December, a four-year investigation by the Office for Environmental Protection (OEP) found the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra), the EA and Ofwat all failed in their separate duties to monitor unlawful sewage dumping and enforce environmental law.
The i Paper previously revealed there are hundreds of permits that allow water companies to release sewage into England’s rivers that have not been updated by Government officials for decades.
While the sewage released into the stream has been treated, campaigners warned that the “primitive” treatment methods at the site mean the wastewater is still harmful to the environment.
The Water (Special Measures) Bill
The legislation received Royal Assent in February bringing into force a wave of new measures to tackle pollution.
The bill has four key aims:
Block bonuses for water company executives “who pollute our waterways” Bring criminal charges against “persistent law breakers” Impose automatic and “severe” fines for wrongdoing Enable independent monitoring of every sewer overflow outlet“If water companies fail to act on our warnings and advice, we will investigate and take enforcement action.
“This is just one element of our new strengthened approach which combines more staff on the ground supported by new digital tools and intelligence-led regulation.”
“Our failed water industry model has empowered greedy bosses to treat our blue spaces like an open sewer, raking in the cash whilst making people sick. It’s rotten to the core and needs radical reform.
A Defra spokesperson said: “This Government inherited a water system where for too long water companies have pumped record levels of sewage into our waterways.
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Karen Gibbs, senior leader for the Environment at the Consumer Council for Water, said: “Just a third of customers are satisfied with water companies’ efforts to protect the environment and that perception is not going to change until people see and experience a step-change in performance.”
The average water bill in England and Wales will rise by 36 per cent by 2030 to pay for upgrades to tackle the sewage crisis, the regulator Ofwat has said.
A Water UK spokesperson said: “The most recent data confirms that water company compliance is extremely high with around 98 per cent of sewage treatment works and storm overflows meeting their permits.
“Water companies in England and Wales are poised to invest the largest amount of money ever spent on the natural environment to help support economic growth, build more homes, secure our water supplies and end sewage entering our rivers and seas.”
Ofwat declined to comment on the grounds that some of the breaches recorded last year remain under investigation by the EA.
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