The Environment Agency (EA) has announced a fivefold increase in its team of enforcement officers and lawyers tackling water pollution, from 41 roles in 2023 to 195 by March 2026, with seemingly more to come in 2026.
An announcement from the regulator noted that water company environmental performance has continued to decline in recent years, and this has “driven the need for stronger, more visible enforcement action”.
The recent Water White Paper proposes a number of measures to reform the regulatory regime, with a greater focus on oversight, accountability, and enforcement.
As the announcement explains, this expanded team – the largest ever employed by the regulator – means it “can deliver swifter, tougher action against environmental harm”.
The EA said it has already delivered results, with over 8,000 of the 10,000 planned water company inspections for the 2025/26 financial year now complete, resulting 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 of fines to water companies.
EA Director for Water, Helen Wakeham, said: “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 only one tool 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 first 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.”
The increase in workforce is said to be part of an overall attempt by the EA to transform 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.”
The regulator is also publishing all of its Water Industry Compliance Assessment Report (CAR) forms online, in a bid to offer greater visibility on how compliance is assessed and how enforcement decisions are informed.
