Water companies must clean up the environment and reduce pollution in what the Environment Agency (EA) says is the biggest investment in protecting rivers and seas since privatisation, which will be paid for by customers.
The agency has secured a commitment from the privatised water industry to carry out 24,000 targeted actions in a £22bn investment in the environment, according to details of the final water industry national environment programme for the next five years. But the investment will be paid for by customers in bill rises over the same time.
