20 Mar 2025

Thames Water was reported to have discharged 50% more sewage into England’s rivers last year, compared with the previous 12 months. In numbers, this rose from 196,414 hours of raw effluent in 2023 to 300,000 hours in 2024. The data was analysed by University College of London Professor Peter Hammond after Thames Water won approval […]

20 Mar 2025

Water regulator Ofwat has concluded its investigation into Yorkshire Water, securing an enforcement package of £40m to be paid by the wastewater company. Their investigation found on average the firm discharged untreated wastewater into the region’s rivers for seven hours a day in 2023, with almost half its storm overflows found to be in breach […]

11 Mar 2025

Six of the UK’s biggest water companies may have to pay up to £510m in compensation after being accused of overcharging businesses, charities and local authorities by concealing the scale of their sewage spills. Environmental consultant Professor Carolyn Roberts and law firm RPC have issued letters to each of the six firms – Thames Water, […]

11 Mar 2025

In 2024, it was revealed United Utilities had repeatedly discharged millions of litres of raw sewage illegally into Lake Windermere over a three-year period. Environment Secretary Steve Reed has pledged that he will work toward a future where “only rainwater” enters England’s largest lake. The announcement comes as Reed and water minister Emma Hardy embark […]

06 Mar 2025

Photo by Sang Yun Cho / Pixabay   The environmental group River Action has announced they are taking legal action against Ofwat, the water regulator, accusing it of making customers pay twice for services that have not yet been delivered.  Water companies are under investigation by Ofwat for breaches to their permits, an inquiry that […]

06 Mar 2025

United Utilities (UU) is set to confirm a reduction in the number and duration of storm overflow operations across the North West last year, when official figures are released by the Environment Agency (EA) later this month.  In the Windermere catchment, the company’s annual event duration monitoring (EDM) submission to the EA records a 28% […]

27 Feb 2025

In December, sector regulator Ofwat said it would allow water firms to raise bills by an average of £157, or 36%, over the next five years to help finance investment into crumbling infrastructure. However, now six water firms – Thames Water, Southern Water, Anglian Water, South East Water, Northumbrian Water and Wessex Water – have […]