Southern Water fined £90 million for dumping sewage into the sea across the south coast
The utility company, which provides services to West Sussex, has been called a "serious cause for concern" by the Environment Agency
Southern Water needs to improve its environmental performance as there are still too many serious pollution incidents, the Environment Agency has warned.
The latest annual report from the government agency has found that none of the nine English water and sewerage companies had achieved all the environmental expectations set out for them for 2015 to 2020.
The latest rankings reveal Wessex Water, which serves Dorset, Wiltshire and part of Hampshire, achieved the highest four-star rating in the past year.
But Southern Water and South West Water were the worst for environmental performance, with the Environment Agency warning their performance in looking after the environment has been "consistent unacceptable''.
The Environment Agency warned England's rivers were too polluted and said water companies still needed to make and sustain substantial improvements in their environmental performance.
Serious pollution incidents remain too high, it said, with 44 serious pollution incidents, which can cause major or significant environmental harm to surface water or groundwater, in 2020.
That is the lowest number in the records since 2005, and an improvement on 52 in 2019 and 56 in 2018.
But it falls well short of at least a 50% reduction compared to the 60 serious incidents in 2012, with a trend towards zero over the period 2015-2020, which companies were expected to deliver.
The report comes after Southern Water was fined a record £90 million for 6,971 unpermitted sewage discharges, with tonnes of sewage polluting rivers and coastal waters in Kent, Hampshire and Sussex between 2010 and 2015.
Environment Agency chairwoman Emma Howard Boyd said:
"Over half the water sector is now achieving the highest industry rating, showing that clear targets and regulatory focus combined with investment in the environment delivers change in the water sector.
"But, some companies are still failing in their duty to the environment and there remains a tendency to reach for excuses rather than grasp the nettle.''
She said the fine showed environmental laws must not be undermined.
Dr Alison Hoyle, Southern Water’s director of risk and compliance said:
"We welcome the recognition in the Environment Agency’s annual performance report that we have improved our EPA rating from one to two stars.
"This acknowledged progress is evidence of the impact of the continuing cultural and operational transformation of Southern Water which has been led by CEO Ian McAulay since he joined the company in 2017.
"As a company in transformation, we recognise there is more to do. We now lead the industry in self-reporting pollution, thanks to continuing investment in IT, telemetry, people and processes and underlining the commitments to openness and transparency we have made."