South West Sees Surge in Water Company Inspections

In the South West region approximately 500 inspections of water company assets have been conducted. The inspection teams are expanding steadily with a focus, on conducting checks enforcing rules and ensuring regulatory compliance.

The enforcement action taken against water companies to enhance water quality has resulted in 500 inspections conducted by Environment Agency officials, in the South West since April.

A fresh group of inspectors has started their work energetically. Increased the examination of water company assets substantially. These teams will expand further to help the Environment Agency reach its target of increasing inspections to 4,000, by March 2025.

South West Water has received 215 visits to its sites in Devon and Cornwall since April, where a group of 15 officerss responsible for overseeing water companies and highlighting any concerns for further review, such as non compliance with permits, at sewage treatment facilities and implementing solutions to tackle issues related to storm overflows.

In Bristol and the surrounding areas of Somerset and Wiltshire a group of 7 officers has conducted, over 230 inspections far; another team of 8 is set to begin work in the early part of next year.

The water companys performance needs improvement. We are committed, to making the necessary changes to enhance it.

Clarissa Newell, who works as a water industry regulation manager, at the Environment Agency shared her thoughts by stating;

The water companys performance needs improvement. We are committed, to addressing that issue by increasing the number of skilled individuals who excel at identifying problems and monitoring progress effectively.

We believe that the strategic utilization of inspection data to generate insights will pave the way for advancements, in the water sector meeting both our expectations and those of the general public.

The increase in inspections is a component of the nationwide Water Industry Regulation Transformation initiative, which aims to hire, around 500 skilled personnel, both new and seasoned throughout the nation.

The incoming team members will help ramp up water company inspections to 4,o00 by March 2025 to 10,o00 in the following year and 11,o00 in the subsequent year, after that.

The Environment Agency is currently carrying out the criminal investigation ever into possible widespread violations by water and sewerage companies at numerous sewage treatment facilities.In the years since 2015,the Environment Agency has completed 63 prosecutions against water and sewerage companies resulting in fines totaling, than £151 million.

Context

We recently released a blog written by Rebecca Lee, our environment officer, where she discusses her experience working in a team that regulates the water industry.