Water firms promise greater transparency, benefiting millions

We made transparency the default: Water companies that provide sewage services now proactively report on sewage spills, empowering communities with the facts. 

We have called on water companies to proactively publish information relating to start and stop times of sewage discharges.  

We wrote to 12 water companies that provide sewage services, and they all committed to regular reporting on sewage discharges. This marks a significant shift towards environmental transparency. Millions of people across the UK now have easier access to vital information about pollution in their local rivers, lakes and coastal waters. 

We have supported water companies in improving their transparency by providing regulatory certainty in publicising our decisions and sharing good practice. This includes introducing an ‘open by default’ culture.  

We’re holding these companies accountable if they don’t comply with the law or if they attempt to hide any sewage pollution from the public. 

To date, this includes:  

• six decision notices ordering the disclosure of information; and  
• our first ever practice recommendation for a water company that failed to properly handle requests from the public for important environmental information. 

We’ll continue supporting the sector by engaging in EIR forums and monitoring new complaints to ensure water companies follow through on their commitments. Companies must keep improving transparency, and where we see regression, we won’t hesitate to take further action.