Southern Water receives 1 star rating as performance 'terrible across the board'

The Environment Agency said the environmental performance of England’s nine water and sewerage companies ‘was the worst we have seen for years’.

In particular, the sector’s performance on pollution was ‘shocking’.

Southern and South West Water’s ratings both fell to 1 star, meaning their performance was ‘terrible across the board’.

Emma Howard Boyd, chair of the Environment Agency, said: “Company directors let this occur and it is simply unacceptable. Over the years the public have seen water company executives and investors rewarded handsomely while the environment pays the price.

"The water companies are behaving like this for a simple reason: because they can. We intend to make it too painful for them to continue as they are.”

Serious water quality pollution incidents (category 1 and 2) from sewerage and water supply assets increased to their highest number since 2013.

There were 62 serious incidents, up from increase from 44 in 2020 and more than half of these were from assets of three water companies (Anglian Water – 14, Southern Water – 12 and Thames Water – 12).

Seven water companies had an increase in serious incidents compared to 2020 - Southern Water had a threefold increase.

Toby Willison, Southern Water’s director of quality and environment, said: “We know we have a long way to go, however, new investment and new ways of working, including major upgrades to our control centre and pumping stations, and the introduction of tens of thousands of digital monitors across our network, are already making a difference and delivering positive change.”

The EA says all utilities need to take responsibility to tackle their specific performance issues and it will be taking action to ‘focus the water companies’.

This includes toughening regulation, placing a greater emphasis on root causes of non-compliance and pollution incidents’, undertaking its largest investigation into potential sewage treatment works flow-to-full treatment non-compliance, continuing to review the progress of pollution incident reduction plans, publishing event duration monitoring data in relation to the operation of storm overflows, and supporting DEFRA on its storm overflow discharge reduction plan which is due to be published in September.