Regulatory failure: Examining Illegal Sewage Discharges in England and Wales - By Isabel Edwards

Regulatory failure: Examining Illegal Sewage Discharges in England and Wales

By Isabel Edwards

Clean water is essential for society. Yet, while the EU Water Framework Directive mandates that all rivers achieve 'good' ecological status by 2027, only 14% of England's rivers currently meet this criterion. Legal and illegal sewage discharges are key contributors to the poor ecological condition of so many of England’s rivers, with repeated media exposés keeping the issue of sewage spills to the forefront of public attention. 

From an analysis of the regulation of water companies in England and Wales, I found that there are significant weaknesses in monitoring, enforcement and assessment processes. Growing time gaps between national water quality assessments, weak clauses for sewage spill reductions in government acts, and poor visibility over water company plans has hindered regulatory systems’ ability to respond forcefully to misconduct.

While change is difficult, my research suggests that environmental and consumer NGOs could make a significant contribution through:

1. Targeting Key Decision-Makers and Local Issues: NGOs should focus efforts on mobilising constituency pressure to keep local MPs focused on sewage discharges and local environmental impacts. NGOs should complement these local efforts with public national campaigns, prioritising meetings with select committee members to influence government positions.

2. Enhancing Citizen Science and Data Transparency: NGOs should advocate for democratized data and for transparency on licence/permit conditions to improve accountability. They should push for a public data entry platform verified by regulators and companies to reduce reliance on water company self-reporting. NGOs should also press for adequately funded regulators. while using citizen science to supplement oversight and to highlight areas where regulators are not functioning effectively.

3.  Promoting System-Wide Water Management Policies: NGOs should urge the government to establish clear national expectations for integrating catchment partnerships and river basin management plans with water company plans. NGOs should highlight the successes of Catchment Based Approaches (CaBA) and should press for wider local community involvement in decision-making processes.

Note 1: Isabel Edwards’ policy brief titled ‘A clear case of regulatory failure? Examining illegal sewage discharges by the water industry in England and Wales’ was shortlisted for the Chronos Sustainability Prize 2024. A copy of the policy brief can be downloaded here

Note 2: Isabel is currently completing the MSc in Environmental Policy and Regulation at the LSE. She also holds a position in the Environment team at Tesco, working as a Nature and Forests Analyst where her focus is on addressing water-related issues in global food systems and deforestation in high-risk commodity supply chains.