Tougher regulation was recommended for water companies in England by a cross-party group of MPs, who warned the “chemical cocktail” of sewage, slurry and plastic coursing through England’s waterways is putting public health and nature at risk.
In a report, parliament’s Environmental Audit Committee (EAC) blamed the poor water quality in rivers on "chronic" underinvestment and multiple failures in monitoring, governance and enforcement.
Only 14% of English rivers meet good ecological status and not a single river in England has received a clean bill of health for chemical contamination, the EAC said.
It said government budget cuts to the Environment Agency have hampered the ability to monitor water quality in rivers and detect permit breaches or pollution incidents from the water industry and farming.
The report recommended that the Environment Agency and water companies work together to ensure that information on sewage discharges are made publicly available as near to real time as possible, called on the government to set “challenging improvement targets and timetables” for reducing the impact of sewage discharges, and said regulator Ofwat should prioritise long-term investment in wastewater when setting the prices water companies can charge.
The MPs also called on the government to encourage water companies to designate at least one widely used stretch of river for bathing in their local area by 2025.
Water companies include a trio of FTSE 100 groups, Severn Trent PLC (LSE:SVT), Pennon Group PLC (LSE:PNN, OTC:PEGRY) and United Utilities Group PLC (LSE:UU.).
EAC chairman, Rt Hon Philip Dunne MP, said: “Our inquiry has uncovered multiple failures in the monitoring, governance and enforcement on water quality.
“For too long, the government, regulators and the water industry have allowed a Victorian sewerage system to buckle under increasing pressure.
“To deliver real change and improve the state of our rivers, a wide range of stakeholders must come together including the government, regulators and water companies.
“The Environment Act signalled the first welcome sign of political will to tackle this issue. I hope this marks the start of government regulatory and polluter action to improve the state of our rivers for all to enjoy.”
Environment minister Rebecca Pow said the government welcomed the report, which "highlights many areas that this government is now tackling".
She said the new Environment Act "puts in place more protections against water pollution than ever before".
And the government has brought in legal obligations to make water companies reduce storm overflows, which discharge household waste into waterways when sewers are overwhelmed, she said.