UK River Report #7: Regulation Astray with Government Action in Disarray

Welcome back dear reader to the seventh installment of the UK River Report. In this month's post, I will be discussing some recent government failures in regulating the water industry, including the Environment Agency's missed targets and contribution to dangerously high E. coli levels in the Thames. I will also cover some promising developments in citizen science efforts taking place in Birmingham, providing some hope against the government's unsuccessful attempt to overturn the ruling that it failed the Costa Beck in North Yorkshire. Finally, I will be rounding off this post with a recent correspondence from Geoff in Milton Ernest, who featured in the first issue of the UK River Report.

Regulation gone awry:

Through the work of Surfers Against Sewage, data obtained from the Environment Agency has shown how the number of pollution incidents in England recorded by water companies has risen to a ten-year high, despite the water industry having been set a target to reduce these by 40% against 2016 levels no later than 2025 [1]. Furthermore, with pollution incidents in 2024 reaching twice the limit imposed by the Environment Agency, the government continues to demonstrate their inability to effectively regulate water companies [2].

As I have previously mentioned, meaningful change within the water industry has never been more apparent, with it a clear necessity that promises, such as the £12 billion investment from water companies 'to almost halve water spills from storm flows by 2030', are honoured, especially given the frequency of frankly devastating statistics and apparent lack of accountability and meaningful repurcussions that follow [1, 3]. Yet water bills continue to rise [4].

Although by the time this blog is published the Independent Water Commission's call for evidence will have come to a close, I urge readers to keep a close eye on the developments which come from this [5]. While I may be feeling wishfully optimistic, this it may see the beginning of the reform the water industry ought to have had decades ago, particularly as this coincides with new legislation coming into force which will mean water company executives may face up to two years in jail if they fail to cooperate or obstruct sewage spill investigators [6].

Birmingham means business:

To ensure accountability when it comes to the actions of water companies, this must begin with there being sufficient evidence available to track their commitment to protecting our waterways. However, with a lack of government funding toward environmental monitoring, this therefore underscores the importance of citizen science, some of which taking place in force along rivers and streams of Birmingham, thanks to the efforts of Dr James White and almost 100 volunteers across 15 groups [7]. The impact of this work is evidenced by the fact that in the last year these groups have collected more invertebrate data than official agencies have done over the last decade, enabling issues of pollution to be more quickly identified and flagged to the appropriate organisations, such as the Environment Agency and Severn Trent [7].

Boat Race bacteria:

In the run up to this year's Oxford and Cambridge Boat Race, E. coli levels from sewage pollution were measured to be three times in excess of the threshold for poor bathing water status and so presented a risk to human health [8]. Having been a similar issue last year with some of Oxford's team likely suffering from illness due to pollution in the Thames, this calls into question the commitment of Thames Water and the Environment Agency, both of which continue to fail limiting raw sewage discharges, even with particularly dry weather coinciding with testing, suggesting that any releases to have taken place were illegal and not a neccessity to alleviate the pressure of extreme rainfall [8, 9]. This has sadly become the norm for our water companies.

What is more, sewage treatment plants have no limits imposed on them for E. coli levels from pollution, which means that without changes in leglislation this will continue to present an issue for human health, even from treated sewage [8].

Labour reel with rejected appeal:

Returning to an article I covered back in January on Labour's appeal against a court ruling with respect to the failings of the Environment Agency and DEFRA to restore the Upper Costa Beck, the appeal court has ruled in favour of the Pickering Fishery Association, who originally alleged the failure of the government and the Environment Agency [10, 11]. As appropriately put by Andrew Kelton, one of the solicitors from Fish Legal representing the anglers: 'This case goes to the heart of why the government has failed to make progress towards improving the health of rivers and lakes in England [11].'

The crux of the issue is the government's inability, whether legislatively or otherwise, to shift the status quo, with an apparent lack of willingness to oversee the true reform of the water industry and its regulators, meaning the future of our waterways will remain uncertain.

Combined sewerage crisis:

When I began this blog, Geoff from Milton Ernest wrote to inform me of the state the Great Ouse. Since then he has again been in touch, this time to discuss some of the key takeaways from a recent Parish Council meeting on sewage overflows into the river, with his local MP and a representative from Anglian Water present. Here, this representative proceeded to comment on the limited impact of new builds in the village on the number or volume of sewage overflows from the local pumping station, namely how per year, the total average volume of rainfall on an average house is greater than 100 times the volume of foul effluent from that house. While most homes built after 1970 will have separate surface and wastewater drainage, there remain millions of older homes still connected to combined sewers, clearly demonstrating the importance of working to resolve this issue [12]. Therefore, the issue of increasing sewage overflows associated with heavy rainfall, especially in the context of climate change, will remain, unless radical changes are made [13].

Thank you for taking the time to read this month's issue of the UK River Report. I hope you found it informative. If you would like to get involved and raise awareness of river pollution in your area, please head over to the UK River Report website and check under the 'Get Involved' page to complete our survey, or feel free to get in touch via the 'Contact' page, if you feel you have more to discuss than the survey can offer. 

With hope for the future,

Federico 

References:

1. Stallard E. England Water Pollution at 10-Year High, Campaigners Say. BBC; 2025. [cited 2025 April 19]. Available from: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cy5rp6e75q4o

2. Horton H. Water Companies’ Pollution Incidents in England Increased by 30% in 2024. The Guardian; 2025. [cited 2025 April 23]. Available from: https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2025/apr/16/water-companies-pollution-incidents-in-england-increased-by-30-in-2024

3. Water UK. Water UK Response to Surfers Against Sewage Water Quality Report. Water UK; 2025. [cited 2025 April 20]. Available from: https://water.org.uk/news-views-publications/news/water-uk-response-surfers-against-sewage-water-quality-report

4. Smith C, Peachey K. Water Bills to Rise by £10 a Month in April. BBC; 2025. [cited 2025 April 23]. Available from: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c5yd9qzx79go

5. Independent Water Commission. Independent Commission For Water - Call For Evidence. GOV.UK; 2025. [cited 2025 April 21]. Available from: https://www.gov.uk/government/calls-for-evidence/independent-commission-for-water-call-for-evidence

6. Hooker L. Water Bosses Could Now Face Jail For Cover-ups. BBC; 2025. [cited 2025 April 25]. Available from: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c5yrwl1wgdjo

7. Gregory-Kumar D. Volunteers are Tracking the Health of City's Rivers. BBC; 2025. [cited 2025 April 22]. Available from: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c045qr39k0xo

8. Laville S. Campaigners Find Sewage Pollution and E.coli in Boat Race Water. The Guardian; 2025. [cited 2025 April 23]. Available from: https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2025/apr/09/campaigners-find-sewage-pollution-and-e-coli-in-boat-race-water

9. McLaughlin L. Oxford Boat Race Crew Reveal Sickness Problems After Cambridge Double up. The Guardian; 2024. [cited 2025 April 23]. Available from: https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2024/mar/30/boat-race-report-cambridge-oxford

10. Laville S. Ministers to Appeal Against River Pollution Ruling Won by Yorkshire Anglers. The Guardian; 2025. [cited 2025 April 23]. Available from: https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2025/jan/14/ministers-to-appeal-against-river-pollution-ruling-won-by-yorkshire-anglers

11. Laville S. Environment Secretary’s Appeal Against Yorkshire River Pollution Ruling Fails. The Guardian; 2025. [cited 2025 April 23]. Available from: https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2025/apr/02/ministers-lose-appeal-against-yorkshire-anglers-river-pollution-ruling

12. JDP. Does Your House Have the Right Drain Connections? JDP; 2021. [cited 2025 April 26]. Available from: https://www.jdpipes.co.uk/knowledge/underground-sewer/does-your-house-have-the-right-drain-connections.html

13. McCarthy M, Doherty A, Ciavarella A, Kendon M. Met Office: A Review of the UK’s Climate in 2023. Carbon Brief; 2024. [cited 2025 April 26]. Available from: https://www.carbonbrief.org/met-office-a-review-of-the-uks-climate-in-2023/