Water company bosses should face jail for the worst pollution incidents, the Environment Agency has said as it detailed the sector’s “shocking” performance in 2021. However, Northumbrian Water is one of the best performers and hangs onto a top four-star rating.
The agency’s annual environmental performance report for water companies said it was the “worst we have seen for years”, as serious pollution incidents increased to 62 in 2021, the highest total since 2013. There were eight of the very worst, category one, incidents, compared to three in 2020.
Northumbrian Water, along with Severn Trent Water and United Utilities, maintained a four-star rating. But, most other companies did much worse last year than in 2020, driven both by poorer performance and higher expectations.
