Nearly 100 criminal probes into water firms over pollution launched in past year
Nearly 100 criminal investigations have been launched into suspected rule-breaking by water companies in the past year, officials said.
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The Environment Agency said 96 criminal investigations had been launched since April 2025 following evidence of “serious breaches” of environmental rules, such as illegal sewage leaks or poorly maintained treatment facilities
Potential punishments could see water companies forced to take immediate remedial works, or even hit with multimillion-pound fines, the regulator said.
Environment Secretary Emma Reynolds said it was a record-breaking increase in investigations that showed poorly performing water firms had “nowhere to hide”, as part of a crackdown on pollution.
The Environment Agency has already announced it carried out 10,000 inspections of water treatment works and facilities in the past year – flagging 3,000 breaches which required action by water companies, including repairing sewage works and upgrading infrastructure.
Ms Reynolds said: “Poor-performing water companies have nowhere to hide under my watch.
“This record-breaking increase in investigations shows we are taking wrongdoing in the sector extremely seriously, with tough enforcement and swift consequences for those who fail customers and the environment.
“We will continue to use every enforcement power available to clamp down on pollution and hold offenders to account.”
Environment Agency executive director John Leyland said: “Water company compliance with the law is the foundation for the clean and plentiful water people rightly expect to enjoy.
“This latest round of investigations is built on a huge volume of compliance work over the last few years, and underlines our commitment to improving the industry’s performance.
“We will not hesitate to pursue robust enforcement when the most serious offences are uncovered.”
But campaign group Surfers Against Sewage said only a “complete clear-out and reset” would restore the country’s waters and public trust in the sector.
Jo Morley, head of campaigns and advocacy at the charity, said: “The only way to ensure that water companies operate for the good of the planet and people is to restructure the industry so that the profit motive is removed.
“We won’t back down until our waters and public health is put before corporate greed.
“We are sick of the rotten system, and sick of getting sick so that shareholders can make a profit.
“We’ll be paddling out and protesting across the UK this May, demanding an end to this scandal. The Government must listen.”
Chief executive of River Action James Wallace pointed to official figures showing water companies in England and Wales discharged 1.8 million hours of sewage into rivers, lakes and seas in 2025, and most of England’s 35 official inland bathing sites were rated unsafe for swimming.
He said: “We welcome the Government’s investigations, but with so much sewage still being poured into our waterways, far more must be done to hold polluters to account.
“Investigations must lead to prosecutions, and those prosecutions must result in meaningful penalties delivered swiftly.”