Thames Water records leap in serious water pollution incidents this year

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Thames Water has recorded a 25% rise in serious water pollution incidents this year, new figures reveal.

Information obtained by law firm, Legal Expert via Freedom of Information Requests to the Environment Agency has found a leap in serious water pollution incidents between 2023 and 2024.

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The country’s largest household supplier reported 16 category one (the most serious) pollution incidents in 2023, rising to 20 in 2024.

It comes as Thames Water, Yorkshire Water and Northumbrian Water face £168m fines by Ofwat over historic sewage spills.

Serious Water Pollution Incidents 2024.Serious Water Pollution Incidents 2024.
Serious Water Pollution Incidents 2024.

The industry regulator made the announcement on Wednesday (July, 31) amidst growing public fury over the environmental and financial performance of some water companies.

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The proposal will go to public consultation and is part of Ofwat’s largest ever investigation into water company performance.

Thames Water are facing fines of £104m from the industry regulator. Ofwat can fine companies up to 10% of their annual sales. In this case, the proposed fine is 9% of sales.

Environment Agency figures obtained by Legal Expert show the majority of England’s nine water and sewage companies have recorded 92% of ‘serious pollution incidents’ this year alone.

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Thames Water reported serious incidents this year, up from 16 in 2023. Yorkshire Water declared 11, up from six the previous year.

A further eight incidents were logged by Southern Water, down from 16 the year before and Anglian Water had six incidents down from 11 in 2023.

Figures for serious water pollution incidents for Severn Trent and Northumbrian Water are incomplete for 2024. The Environment Agency has been contacted for comment on this.

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The Environment Agency categorises water pollution incidents as serious if they fall into their two highest categories: major (category 1) or significant (category 2).

Serious incidents can include events that, for example, cause fish to die, potentially harm bathers or force a drinking water provider to temporarily stop abstracting water from a river.

The data obtained by Legal Expert also shows the leading causes and pollutants contributing to ‘serious water pollution incidents’ in England and Wales over the past five years.

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Between 2019-2024, ‘Containment and Control’ was the leading cause, accounting for 83% of all reported ‘serious incidents’ in the last five years.

This could include pipeline failures meaning hazardous materials transported through pipelines are released into the environment. Some 250 incidents have been recorded since 2019.

In 79% of these cases, crude sewage was the pollutant - which is raw sewage that has not been treated.

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The second most common cause of serious water pollution incidents was ‘Sewer Failure or Overflow.’ Some 113 incidents have been recorded since 2019, accounting for 37%.

A further 47 serious incidents have been caused by ‘pipe failure below ground’ and ‘;control measure failure’ was to blame for 22 incidents.

It is possible to claim compensation if water pollution has caused financial loss or illness.

LegalExpert.co.uk has a team of experts at hand for anyone who has concerns about their water.

They operate a 24-hour helpline and live chat service which you can access on their website.

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