Anglian Water told to make major improvements to cut pollution
The firm says it 'fully' accepts it must make changes
Anglian Water has been told to make major improvements by the Environment Agency in an annual review into its performance.
The firm has been rated two stars out of a possible four by the regulator, meaning it is one of four water companies in the UK considered the worst performing.
Anglian Water serves all or parts of Bedfordshire, Buckinghamshire, Cambridgeshire, Essex, Lincolnshire, North Lincolnshire, North East Lincolnshire, Norfolk, Northamptonshire, Nottinghamshire and Suffolk.
The company was given the rated due to the number of pollution incidents linked to its operations.
There were 255 incidents caused by the company in 22, 11 which were considered serious.
More than half of the number of pollution incidents were caused by Anglian Water and Thames Water combined.
Graham Verrier, Area Director for the Environment Agency in East Anglia said: “We are disappointed that Anglian Water is a 2 star company for the second year in a row.
“Where there is evidence of non-compliance we will not hesitate to pursue the water company and take appropriate action – as is evidenced by the conclusion of nine prosecutions against Anglian Water in the last 14 months.”
Water Minister Rebecca Pow said: “Today’s report shows there is significant work to do to drive the improvements in our rivers and seas that we need to see.
“The government’s Plan for Water is focused on more investment, tougher enforcement and tighter regulation. I am personally committed to driving that forward and demanding more from each and every water company.
“We have also put new regulatory powers in place to allow the Environment Agency to impose sanctions on water companies without always going through the courts. This will be an important tool in its armoury to hold companies to account.”
An Anglian Water spokesperson said: “We take our responsibility to protect, restore and improve our region’s environment incredibly seriously and fully accept that our performance must improve.
“Over the last two years we’ve drastically changed how we operate to address more effectively the unique and complex challenges facing our region.
"This is detailed in our Pollution Incident Reduction Plan published today. We know that we must do better on some critical measures of environmental performance, and we remain resolutely focussed on continuing with this strategy at pace.”