Environment Agency secures record environmental commitments from water companies 

The Environment Agency has secured the largest ever commitment from water companies to clean up the environment and invest in new infrastructure since privatisation. 

• Environment Agency agrees 24,000 water company actions to improve the water environment 

• Tangible actions represent £22.1bn investment into the environment – four times larger than previous investment cycle 

• Protections for drinking water, biodiversity and water supply secured 

  The Environment Agency has secured the largest ever commitment from water companies to clean up the environment and invest in new infrastructure since privatisation.   

  The Water Industry National Environment Programme (WINEP) sets out over 24,000 actions water companies must take over the next five years to meet their legal requirements for the environment. This series of targeted interventions represents a £22.1bn investment in the environment - four times more than was secured in the last investment period and will deliver tangible benefits for our water system and for customers. 

South West Water plans to nearly double its investment to £2.5 billion from 2025-30. This investment includes: 

• £764 million spent to deliver a 62% reduction in storm overflow spills compared to its performance in 2023-24, driving improvements to over 290 storm overflows by 2030. 

• a requirement to reduce pollution incidents by 30%, 

• £150 million to prevent nutrient pollution, 

• £3 million to improve biodiversity and conservation,  

• £2 million to meet Water Framework Directive requirements. 

As part of the Price Review 24 process the Environment Agency assessed actions proposed by water companies and, alongside Ofwat and Natural England, provided technical guidance to make sure these actions will provide direct solutions to environmental pressures. 

The agreed actions will lead to improvements in water infrastructure to secure future supply, habitats and biodiversity and drinking water quality. For example, South West Water will install biosecurity measures at 12 recreational activity sites. This includes washdown facilities for boats, boot scrubs, drying racks and a raised awareness of the importance to ‘Check, Clean, Dry’, to limit the impact of invasive non-native species on recreational activities, sports and water supply operations.  

South West Water abstracts water from the De Lank River, in the River Camel catchment in Cornwall, to supply clean drinking water to homes and businesses. When this abstraction licence was originally issued in 1984, the approach towards protecting flows in the River Camel catchment were different than they are today. The River Camel (including the De Lank River) has a higher level of environmental protection than all other rivers in Cornwall - mainly to support the populations of otter, Atlantic salmon and bullhead.  Thanks to flow targets advised by Natural England, South West Water will reduce the amount of water taken from the De Lank River by 31 March 2030, easing pressure on this highly valued river system. 

  Other actions driven by the Environment Agency include: 

• increasing the number of water company schemes to prevent nutrient pollution and remove phosphates from 5 to 21 as part of £150m investment in this area. 

• instructing the water company to carry out an additional 10 investigations to identify whether its assets are impacting waterbodies plus investigations into any water company assets on the recently designated Dart Estuary bathing waters. 

Steve Marks, Area Environment Planning and Engagement Manager for Devon, Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly, said:  

“Clean water in sufficient quantity is essential for all life, the environment, businesses, industry and agriculture.  

“These commitments help protect the quantity and quality of our most precious resource, which is essential to meet the future needs of both people and the environment." 

Natural England has also pushed for environmental improvements. One action agreed by South West Water on Dartmoor is to stop abstraction and remove an associated weir within Dendles Wood National Nature Reserve and SSSI. Woodland plants and lichens are expected to benefit as a result, with the potential for further improvements for salmon in the future.   

Mark Worsfold, South West Water’s Director of Asset Management, said:  

"The WINEP programme for 2025 to 2030 represents the largest environment programme we have ever invested in with over £1bn being spent to deliver around 2,200 improvements across the region.  

“This will see improvements in water resources, natural resources and river water quality improvements across the river network. Our storm overflow programme is focussed around improvements in our coasts and estuaries delivering benefits to all bathing waters and shellfish areas by 2030, five years ahead of the Government requirements for bathing waters." 

Alan Lovell, Chair of the Environment Agency said: 

  “This unprecedented level of investment represents a vital step forward towards ensuring we have clean, safe, and abundant water now and for future generations.  

  “Working with the water companies on this £22bn programme is a crucial way to realise the government’s goals of stimulating development and boosting economic growth, while ensuring the sector can meet its ambitious environment commitments.” 

“We will work closely with Defra, Ofwat and other regulators to monitor water company progress and ensure they deliver what has been promised. If water companies fail to carry out their legal obligations to the environment, we will take action.”   

  Steve Reed, Secretary of State for the Environment said:

“It is no secret that our water system needs fixing and that our rivers, lakes and seas are choked by pollution.

“Customers deserve the money they pay in bills to go towards improving the service they receive, and that is why the Government will ringfence money earmarked for investment, so it can only be spent on projects like these.

“We are also going further to fix our water system through the Water (Special Measures) Bill, by introducing new powers to ban the payment of bonuses for polluting water bosses and bring criminal charges against lawbreakers.”

The Environment Agency and other regulators will drive water companies to embrace state-of-the-art technologies and groundbreaking innovations when delivering the actions set out under WINEP.  

These collaborative efforts are crucial to cutting pollution, managing water efficiency, and increasing resilience to climate change for the benefit of both nature and people. By doing so we and industry can stimulate development and support the Government’s objective of boosting economic growth.