THE Environment Agency (EA) has hit out at water companies’ “unacceptable” performance on sewage spills last year.

There were 47 serious pollution incidents last year, up from 44 in 2022, the regulator said today.

Four companies — Thames Water, Anglian Water, Southern Water and Yorkshire Water — caused 90 per cent of those incidents, its annual report said.

Agency chairman Alan Lovell said: “This is unacceptable. My over-riding sense is one of frustration and disappointment.

“The results we see are, yet again, simply not good enough.”

The regulator said five out of nine companies in England were rated as “requiring improvement” in its report.

This included Thames Water, Britain’s biggest water supplier, which has been under fire in recent months over pollution and financial woes.

There was a “small improvement” in environmental protection among some firms and Severn Trent, Wessex Water and United Utilities performed well, but the majority are not getting the basics right, such as minimising pollution incidents and complying with permits, said the report.

Mr Lovell said the culture within some firms “can also perpetuate poor practices” and warned that the regulator will not take bad weather as an excuse for poor environmental performance.

The EA said it would introduce a tougher regulatory approach as it outlined plans for recruiting 500 additional staff, increasing enforcement activity and quadrupling the number of water company inspections to 4,000 before April next year.

Environment Secretary Steve Reed called the findings “shocking.”

He said: “For too long, water companies have pumped record levels of sewage into our rivers, lakes and seas.

“This government will never let this happen again.”

Water UK, the sector’s trade association, said: “While today’s results show overall water company environmental performance has improved, it is clear there is more to be done.”