The Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (Defra) have announced that a record 81 criminal investigations into water companies have been launched in England over the last nine months since since the general election.

New powers under the Government’s landmark Water (Special Measures) Act 2025 have come into force today which could see water company bosses who cover up or hide illegal sewage spills face up to two years in prison.

Following yesterday’s publication by the Environment Agency of data on water companies' spills from storm overflows in 2024, Yorkshire Water has reported that the company reduced the number of discharges from storm overflows to the region’s watercourses by 12% in 2024 – a reduction of 9,595 discharges.

United Utilities says its multi-million-pound investment plan to reduce spills from storm overflows is moving at pace across the North West.

South West Water has published an update on its storm overflow performance following the publication yesterday by the Environment Agency of water company Event Duration Monitoring (EDM) Annual Return data for 2024 showing the frequency and duration of spills from storm overflows in England.

Northumbrian Water is reporting that spills from storm overflows have reduced across the North East due to investment projects and innovative steps taken by the company.   

The Environment Agency has won a case against South West Water which tried to prevent 12 charges relating to sewage discharges in Cornwall being taken forward in an impending prosecution.

South West Water has significantly reduced its use of storm overflows in Princetown.

Severn Trent has revealed the rapid progress it is making to improve river health across Nottinghamshire after announcing a further £174 million investment plan.

Defra Minister Steve Reed has announced that the Government is to carry out a full review of the water sector, saying that “fourteen years of Tory failure have left much of our infrastructure in disrepair.”