Water regulator has 'serious concerns' about Anglian Water sewage treatment
The regulator fears several water companies aren't meeting enviromental rules
Water regulator Ofwat says it has 'serious concerns' about sewage treatment works run by Anglian Water.
It's issued a warning about four other companies too - including Northumbrian Water, Thames Water, Wessex Water and Yorkshire Water.
Ofwat interim boss David Black said: “The data that emerged at the end of last year suggested widespread shortcomings in how water companies were running sewage treatment works. The first phase of our investigation suggests those concerns are credible,”
“We have identified shortcomings in most water and wastewater companies and are continuing to investigate.
“But we have already seen enough in five companies to cause serious concern and warrant us taking further action.”
The data submitted to the regulator suggested a large number of waste water treatment facilities aren't meeting environmental rules.
The companies are also being accused of not providing enough data about their operations.
“We will now dig deeper into what these five companies have been doing, with the prospect of formal enforcement against them if we find they are failing on obligations Ofwat enforces,” Mr Black said.
“We will have further questions for all companies on this.
“In the meantime, we expect them to make quick progress in addressing any potential non-compliance they might have, whilst strengthening how they manage their environmental obligations as a whole.”
An Anglian Water spokesperson said: "We will, of course, continue to support Ofwat with the information they request."
"We’ve been transparent throughout and the regulator could have asked us at any point for further detail, which we would have provided. We want the public to know they can trust Anglian Water, and that we take our environmental obligations very seriously.
"We’re already ahead of schedule delivering our £800m programme of environmental improvements between now and 2025, which is specifically targeted at areas where we know we can make a difference."
Earlier this year a report by the Environmental Audit Committee said England's rivers had serious issues with pollution, with many containing sewage, agricultural waste and plastics.