Image description: Aerial view of a sewage works. Photo by Patrick Federi on Unsplash

New analysis from Friends of the Earth suggests South West Water has the worst environmental footprint of any water company England, as the campaigning organisation calls on the government to put forward a “meaningful plan for restoring the health of the UK’s rivers and seas”.

Water companies judged on 6 categories

Friends of the Earth have published their assessment of water companies’ environmental performance, based on six categories: sewage spills, water quality at bathing sites, pollution incidents or warnings at bathing sites, severity of sewage pollution at bathing sites, the percentage of rivers rated below the standard for good ecological health, and the affordability of bills

The Guardian reports that South West Water, which operates across Devon, Cornwall and parts of Dorset and Somerset, ranked among the top three worst performers in four out of the six categories.

Leading in pollution and price

South West Water had the highest total duration of sewage spill events since 2024, averaging 574,323 hours annually. Severn Trent and Yorkshire Water came second and third respectively but were outstripped by South West Water, by almost 200,000 spill hours.

Additionally, 157 official bathing sites in South West Water’s catchment recorded the most pollution incidents and warnings, with 666 recorded in 2025 alone.

Friends of the Earth also found South West Water’s 1.8 million customers faced some of the highest water bills, coming in at £726 annually. Southern Water is responsible for the most expensive water bills in England and the biggest increase since 2024, with £281 added to the average bill in that period.

South West Water maintains “improving water quality is a huge priority”

A spokesperson for the company said: “We manage more than a third of England’s designated bathing waters, so improving water quality is a huge priority for us. We’re already seeing progress, with storm overflow spills down 17% and spill duration down 25% over the past year, despite significantly higher rainfall across the region. We’re also on track to meet new Environment Act bathing water standards by 2030, five years ahead of the national deadline, showing the impact of record investment across the south-west.”

Meanwhile, the BBC recently reported two 14-year-old girls who swam the Bristol Channel to raise awareness of sewage pollution as part of a world record attempt say they became unwell after training in the sea.

Friends of the Earth call for a Clean Water Bill and nationalisation of water companies

Kierra Box, a water campaigner at Friends of the Earth, is calling on the government to bring forward a robust clean water bill that sets out a “meaningful plan for restoring the health of the UK’s rivers and seas”.

She said: “People have had enough of hearing ministers say they’ll fix the problem, only to bring in measures that superficially address the issue. If we’re to end the sewage scandal once and for all, we must see the government committing to a complete overhaul of our water system.”

Friends of the Earth is also calling on the government to nationalise water companies.

Government response 

A Defra spokesperson told the Guardian: “It is totally unacceptable that some water companies are failing to deliver value for money for customers and polluting our rivers, lakes and seas.”

“The government recognises that we need to build on our reforms which banned bonuses so our water system works for the public. That’s why we are driving forward the biggest overhaul of the water sector in a generation, with new legislation to give the public more control and help keep bills as low as possible.”

Defra maintained that Thames Water remained financially stable, but the government stood “ready for all eventualities, including applying for a special administration regime if that were to become necessary”.

While some sources have reportedly suggested that the prime minister, Andy Burnham, was considering ways of making it easier to bring key utilities such as water companies under public control, the Times reported that Burnham had shelved plans to put Thames Water into administration amid concerns about the cost and the legal risk involved.