The Environment Secretary has pledged to cut sewage pollution from water companies by half by 2030.
Speaking to Sky News, Steve Reed said families had watched the country’s waterways “suffer from record levels of pollution”.
“My pledge to you: the government will halve sewage pollution from water companies by the end of the decade,” he added.
It comes after it emerged that “serious pollution incidents” were up 60 per cent in the last year. Sources have also told The i Paper that the water watchdog, Ofwat, will be scrapped as part of a “complete overhaul” of the system.
Environment Secretary vows to halve sewage pollution by 2030 Sort: Newest first Oldest first July 20, 2025 8:19 amHeavy rain sparks sewage discharges ahead of Environment Secretary’s announcement
Environment Secretary Steve Reed’s announcement to halve sewage spills comes just one day after heavy rain sparked discharges across the country.
On Saturday, Thames Water data show dozens of storm overflows were discharging sewage into waters across London, the South East and the East of England a day after the firm was named as one of three companies responsible for the majority of water pollution events in 2024.
Storm overflows are used to prevent sewers flooding homes, gardens and streets. They are intended to be used as a safety valve, diverting some of the rainwater and untreated sewage water into watercourses.
Thames Water’s event duration monitoring map shows near real-time discharge activity over the past 48 hours (Photo: Thames Water)A map on the Thames Water website showed 35 discharges were active on Saturday afternoon, with dozens more having occurred in the past 48 hours.
Each discharge alert means there could be sewage in the corresponding section of the watercourse.
Some discharges have been ongoing for hours, with results from a monitor at Honeypot Lane, which feeds into Kenton Brook, showing a discharge there has been ongoing for 7 hours and 40 minutes and counting.
Read more about yesterday’s discharges from Alannah Francis here.
July 20, 2025 8:13 amEnvironment Secretary vows to halve sewage pollution by 2030
Good morning and welcome to The i Paper‘s live blog.
The Environment Secretary has pledged to halve sewage pollution from water companies by 2030.
Steve Reed is expected to set out to the goal, which is compared to 2024 levels, later today.
This comes just days after the Environment Agency released data showing serious water pollution incidents by water firms soared by 60 per cent last year.
Reed has pledged to cut sewage pollution from water companies in half by 2030 compared to 2024 levels (Photo: Gareth Fuller/PA Wire)Ministers are also aiming to cut phosphorus – which causes harmful algae blooms – in half by 2028.
Reed said Britain’s seas and waterways “suffer from record levels of pollution”.
“My pledge to you: the government will halve sewage pollution from water companies by the end of the decade,” he added.
Follow The i Paper’s live blog for the latest updates.
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