Patrick Hurley MP for Southport and the Northern Parishes welcomes major boost for Southport's community radio sector

Largest ever enforcement workforce protecting waterways from pollution

THE Environment Agency has assembled its largest ever team of:- investigators, enforcement officers and lawyers tackling water pollution, significantly strengthening its enforcement capability as part of a drive to build a tougher regulatory culture.

The regulator has increased its water enforcement workforce almost fivefold; from:- 41 roles in 2023 to 195 by March 2026, with a further increase planned later in 2026. Water company environmental performance has continued to decline in recent years, and this has driven the need for stronger, more visible enforcement action.

In the Northwest there are now nearly 40 roles dedicated to water company sewage compliance and enforcement.

This expanded teams means the regulator can deliver swifter, tougher action against environmental harm - deterring illegal activity, and focusing efforts on achieving a cleaner water environment.

Enforcement officers investigate water companies for breaches of environmental law. A typical day might see them visiting facilities to inspect equipment, collecting water and soil samples for chemical analysis, and providing evidence to courts and legal teams to support prosecutions.

The EA has already delivered significant results, with over:- 8,000 of the 10,000 planned water inspections completed in 2025/26. Of these 1,184 have been delivered in the Northwest. The 8,000 inspections across the country have resulted in over 4,700 individual improvement actions for water companies, including:- repairing sewage works and upgrading infrastructure. Water enforcement last year resulted in over £6.9 million in enforcement undertakings being paid by water companies after breaking environmental law and redirected into cleaning up our waterways.

This suite of enforcement activity and record levels of inspections has already led to improved performance from water companies with a 4% decrease in permit breaches this year following persistent underperformance across the sector.

This expansion is being backed by the largest budget for water enforcement and compliance ever; with a record £153 million this financial year to enable this increase. This includes funding through the introduction of a strengthened:- "polluter pays" approach, with water companies now covering the costs of enforcement, including:- investigations.

EA Water Industry Manager, Andy Brown, said:- "United Utilities received only:- 2 stars out of 5 in our last assessment of their environmental performance, meaning they require improvement. They must do better for the environment and the communities they serve. Our newly formed team is there to help drive improvements day in day out and is taking decisive action where the company is failing to protect our treasured rivers, lakes and coast."

EA Director for Water, Helen Wakeham, said:- "With more specialists and enforcement teams on the ground, the Environment Agency has more resources than ever to protect our waterways from pollution. Our teams will use a wide range of actions to hold water companies to account; from formal notices to civil penalties and prosecution. Enforcement is only1tool in our compliance toolbox. Our goal is to identify and address the root causes of pollution and work with water companies to prevent it from occurring in the 1st place."

Water Minister Emma Hardy said:- "These extra Officers and Inspectors, hired under this Government, are already out on the ground carrying out thousands of checks on water companies, helping to protect our rivers, lakes and seas and restore public confidence in the system. This workforce will be integral in holding water companies to account, and delivering strengthened enforcement powers including:- new, automatic and tougher penalties for water companies.  This increase in workforce forms part of the EA's transformation of its enforcement approach, with increased funding enabling additional dedicated water industry teams, stronger powers through the Water (Special Measures) Act 2025, and a clear strategy to tackle the root causes of environmental harm."

The Water (Special Measures) Act 2025 has already brought in new powers to tackle poor performance, including:- cost recovery for enforcement and prison sanctions for obstruction. Further provisions to the act will follow, including:- new civil penalties such as automatic penalties, statutory Pollution Incident Reduction Plans and accelerated monitoring of all sewage overflows.

As part of our commitment to transparency, we are also publishing all of our Water Industry Compliance Assessment Report (CAR) forms online, giving the public greater visibility of how compliance is assessed and enforcement decisions are informed.

This builds on the Government's recent launch of the Water White Paper, a once in a generation plan to overhaul the water system, delivering tougher oversight and stronger accountability for water companies.

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