Record 81 criminal investigations launched into water companies under Government crackdown 

• Number of criminal investigations launched into water companies surges by 145% since July¹. 
• New crackdown spearheaded by the Environment Secretary is the largest criminal action against water companies in history, part of the Government’s Plan for Change.  
• Investigations could see water bosses jailed for up to five years or companies face fines of hundreds of millions of pounds.   

A record 81 criminal investigations into water companies have been launched in England since the election, as part of the Government’s crackdown on sewage dumping.  

A new operation spearheaded by Environment Secretary Steve Reed amounts to the largest criminal action against water companies in history. 

The number of inspections² carried out by authorities into sewage pollution has skyrocketed by nearly 400% since last July³.  

The record number of Environment Agency spot checks at water company premises and rivers has revealed widespread law-breaking. Over 80 criminal investigations have been launched against water companies over the last nine months, a surge of 145% since the election.   

Following these investigations, water bosses could be jailed for five years and water companies fined hundreds of millions of pounds.⁴ 

This will act as a powerful deterrent, focussing water bosses’ minds on investing to upgrade water infrastructure to clean up our rivers, lakes and seas. Water companies will also spend a record £104 billion and cut sewage discharges by nearly half over five years.  

Environment Secretary Steve Reed:  

“Water companies have too often gone unpunished as they pump record levels of sewage into our waterways. No more.   

“A record number of criminal investigations have been launched into law-breaking water companies – which could see bosses behind bars.   

“With this Government, water companies who break the law will finally be punished for their disgraceful behaviour so we can clean up our rivers, lakes and seas for good.”  

Philip Duffy, Chief Executive of the Environment Agency said:  

“This milestone is testament to our determination to hold water companies to account and achieve a cleaner water environment.  

“Our message to the industry is clear: we expect full compliance throughout the water system, and we will not hesitate to take robust enforcement action where we identify serious breaches. 

“This is just the beginning – we are on track to deliver 10,000 inspections next year, using our tougher powers gained through the Water (Special Measures) Act alongside more officers and upgraded digital tools to drive better performance across the water sector.”  

When a water company breaks the rules of its environmental permit, that is a criminal offence—for example, releasing excessive pollution into a river or failing to carry out water quality monitoring.  

The Environment Agency follows up on every offence they find. The most serious offences, like illegal sewage spills, trigger a criminal investigation that could see water company fines and criminal prosecution for water bosses. The Environment Agency have also taken a zero-tolerance approach to identify and resolve over 1000 minor issues last year like unclogging pipes to deliver immediate improvements to local communities and the environment.  

To drive forward this surge in action, the Environment Agency has hired 380 additional regulatory staff to carry out inspections and other enforcement activity.   

New powers, delivered by the Government’s landmark Water (Special Measures) Act 2025, also mean water executives who cover up or hide illegal sewage spills can now be locked up for up to two years.  

The Environment Agency are also currently carrying out their largest ever criminal investigation into potential widespread non-compliance by water companies at over 2000 sewage treatment works.  

Seven cases against water companies are going to court over the next few months following criminal investigations by the Environment Agency⁵. 

under Environmental Permitting (England and Wales) Regulations (EPR) 2016 and in the case against Thames Water also for offence under Section 33 (1) Environmental Protection Act 1990: 

• The EA has brought charges against Yorkshire Water Services Ltd for offences under Regulation 38(1)(a) EPR 2016 (water discharge activity) 
• The EA has brought charges against Yorkshire Water Services Ltd for offences under Regulation 38(1)(a) EPR 2016(water discharge activity) and Regulation 38(2) EPR 2016 (breach of environmental permit conditions). 
• The EA has brought charges against Dwr Cymru Cyfyngedig, or Welsh Water, for offences under Regulation 38(2) EPR 2016 (breach of environmental permit conditions) 
• The EA has brought charges against Yorkshire Water Services Ltd for offences under Regulation 38(1)(a) EPR 2016 (water discharge activity) 
• The EA has brought charges against Thames Water Utilities Limited for offences under Regulation 38(1)(a) EPR 2016 (water discharge activity) and Section 33(1)(a) EPA 1990 (discharge to land) 
• The EA has brought charges against South West Water for offences under Regulation 38(1)(a) EPR 2016 (water discharge activity) and Regulation 38(2) EPR 2016 (breach of environmental permit conditions) 
• The EA has brought charges against Southern Water Services for offences under Regulation 38(1)(a) EPR 2016 (water discharge activity) and Regulation 38(2) EPR 2016 (breach of environmental permit conditions)  

Defra background 

The government has taken immediate action to reset the water sector. Change is being delivered three stages: 

• In his first week in office, the Secretary of State for Environment Food and Rural Affairs Steve Reed announced a series of initial steps. This included immediately ringfencing funding for vital water infrastructure so that it can only be spent on upgrades benefiting the environment – not diverted for bonuses, dividends or salary increases. Where money is not spent, we will force water companies to return it to customers. 
• Second, the landmark Water (Special Measures) Act 2025 has been signed into law, marking the most significant increase in enforcement powers in a decade. The Act will: 

• Strengthen regulation to ensure water bosses face personal criminal liability for lawbreaking. 
• Give the water regulator new powers to ban the payment of bonuses if environmental standards are not met. 
• Boost accountability for water executives through a new ‘code of conduct’ for water companies, so customers can summon board members and hold executives to account. 
• Introduce new powers to bring automatic and severe fines. 
• Require water companies to install real-time monitors at every sewage outlet with data independently scrutinised by the water regulators. 

• Third, the Independent Commission into the water sector, launched by the UK and Welsh governments, is carrying out the largest review of the industry since privatisation. Its recommendations, due later this summer, will shape further laws to attract the investment needed to clean up our waterways, accelerate infrastructure delivery and restore public confidence in the sector.  
• Over the next five years, £104 billion in private sector investment into the water industry—the largest since privatisation—will drive forward 150 major infrastructure projects – creating over 30,000 jobs across the country, supporting the building of 1.5 million new homes and powering new industries such as gigafactories and data centres. 
• The Secretary of State and Water Minister recently completed a ‘Things Can Only Get Cleaner’ tour to see where this investment will underpin the building of new homes, create jobs and turbocharge local economies around the country – a cornerstone of the government’s Plan for Change. This included a pledge to end sewage discharges into the iconic lake Windermere. 

EA background 

Ongoing EA investigation: Update on Environment Agency investigation – Creating a better place 

The Environment Agency is changing its approach to regulation, by: 

• Expanding the number of staff dedicated to regulating the water industry by 440, including regulatory officers, data analysts, and enforcement specialists. 
• Investing around £15 million in enhancing our digital systems and tools. Data and information from lots of sources will be combined to turn data rapidly into regulatory intelligence to easily identify and tackle the highest priority issues. 
• Continuing to prioritise attendance at all Category 1 and 2 serious and significant water company pollution incidents, but also increasing our attendance at Category 3 (minor) water company pollution incidents. 
• Being more open and transparent about the way we regulate the industry. To help people get the information they need we recently launched our new Water Hub. This will hold all our data and guidance on water in one place for the public to easily access.