England’s water companies got their worst combined ratings for environmental performance in 2024, with Thames Water – the private monopoly utility company that serves most of Croydon – being given the lowest rating of one star for “poor” performance.
Double trouble: serious sewage spillages by Thames Water more than doubled in 2023-2024, while water bills increased by 26% in April
Thames and seven of the other eight companies were rated as “needing improvement”. Only one company achieved the top Environment Agency rating of four stars. Severn Trent did so despite having been responsible for 62,085 sewage spills during the year, each averaging seven hours.
In 2023-2024, serious sewage pollution incidents by Thames Water more than doubled, from 14 to 33.
Thames Water, the country’s largest privatised water company, is on the brink of financial collapse as it struggles to secure a deal to write off its debt. It reported a loss of £1.65billion for the year to March, while its debt pile climbed to £16.8billion.
Last week’s official EA report cites 2024’s wet and stormy weather as a cause of many sewage spill incidents, as well as underinvestment and poor maintenance of infrastructure.
Ofwat’s performance report was also published last Thursday. The regulator found pollution incidents remained at unacceptable levels, with only two companies having reported a reduction in incidents over the five-year period.
It found that so far during the 2020-2025 period, water companies had increased the amount of sewage spilled despite having promised to cut it by 30%.
Flood zone: burst water mains in the Thames Water area are often due to poor maintenance of infrastructure
The report says: “Companies achieved a reduction of 15% in the first three years, but the increase in the final two years has led to an overall 27% increase in numbers across the 2020-2025 period.”
A Thames Water spokesperson said: “Transforming Thames is a major programme of work that will take time. It will take at least a decade to achieve the scale of change required.”
In the Environment Agency’s report, chair Alan Lovell wrote: “Many companies tell us how focused they are on environmental improvement. But the results are not visible in the data.
“This year’s results are poor and must serve as a clear and urgent signal for change,” Lovell said.
James Wallace, the chief executive of campaign group River Action UK, said that the report “exposes the bankruptcy of the privatised water model”.
He said: “We urgently need a complete overhaul of this failed system to ensure that bill payers receive a fair service and that our rivers are properly protected from pollution.”
In April, customers’ water bills rose by an average of 26% in England and Wales, after regulator Ofwat approved water company plans for billions of pounds of investment.
Bills will continue to rise to 2030 to help upgrade water supplies and reduce the amount of sewage being spilled.
The Labour government has so far refused to step in and re-nationalise the water companies.
Read more: You can take Steve Reed to water, but you can’t make him think
Read more: Assembly Member calls on Reed to nationalise Thames Water
Read more: CronxWatch video plumbs the murky depths of Thames Water
Read more: Complacent Thames Water won’t improve Wandle for 12 years
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