Protecting and improving our nation’s rivers, seas, lakes and other waters is hugely important to local communities and to our precious wildlife.
Here are some of the recent actions taken to deliver cleaner and more plentiful water:
Investment
- £60 billion over 25 years to revamp ageing assets and reduce the number of sewage spills by hundreds of thousands every year.
- A Water Restoration Fund has opened for applications and channels water company fines and penalties into on-the-ground projects to protect and improve our rivers, lakes, and streams.
- £74 million available to help farmers invest in improved slurry infrastructure to tackle water pollution, improve air quality and make better use of organic nutrients.
- A new plan to better protect and preserve the River Wye for future generations, including up to £35 million in funding and the appointment of a new ‘River Champion’ and taskforce
Regulation
- The Environment Agency is quadrupling its number of water company inspections, enabling them to carry out 4,000 inspections by the end of this financial year.
- 100% of storm overflows are now monitored in England, providing a complete picture of discharges across the country.
- 27 new bathing water sites have been designated ahead of the 2024 bathing water season and will be monitored by the Environment Agency
Enforcement
- Water bosses will be banned from receiving bonuses if a company has committed serious criminal breaches, pending consultation by Ofwat.
- The cap on civil penalties for environmental offences has been removed.
- A new portal to make it easier for internal water company whistleblowers to safely report serious environmental wrongdoing by water companies to the Environment Agency.
You can read more about action for clean and plentiful water in the Plan for Water, published in April 2023.