Criminal

Environment agency says initial investigation into all 10 water firms suggests possible 'serious non-compliance' with law.

“The Environment Agency has previously taken a passive approach to regulating these discharges, relying on the water companies to collect and even analyse the relevant data. It said: “There appears to be an assumption running though this consultation that most storm overflows only happen due to excessive rainfall … The Environment Agency, as a regulator, also appear to have been working on that assumption … Our members and the public therefore do not share the Environment Agency’s confidence. It said the ambition to cut discharges into bathing waters was “extremely limited”. We need to see a broader scope that includes clear milestones for government as well as water companies, and much more urgency and ambition. Breaching the legal regulations amounts to illegal dumping of raw sewage, and criminal penalties apply. Christine Colvin, of the Rivers Trust, said: “We think this plan gives us too little, too late.