Water quality in focus for new Environment Agency leaders

Environment Agency new chief executive, Philip Duffy, has pledged to concentrate resources and intensify focus on improving water quality, in his foreword to the agency’s annual report for 2022-23.

Duffy, who took up post in July, said the agency was in “no doubt” that communities want cleaner water, better protected nature and secure water supplies. He said: “What this means for us is the concentration of existing and new resources on water quality and supply that will help us further improve water quality. Last year this resulted in 803 water company inspections, against a target of 500, helping us drive compliance and identify problems that are causing pollution. This continued focus will need to intensify in future years.”

He added that being flexible and directing its resources to where these are most needed may become “increasingly standard” for the Agency. He cited that this approach had already been adopted to manage the 2022 drought and heatwaves, and to review the water industry’s next five year investment plan.

Chair, Alan Lovell said “delivering clean and plentiful water is the single most important thing there is” but observed that trust in the water industry has deteriorated. He said: “If it is to be re-built, we need to see profound, long- term change across the sector. We must all play our respective roles to deliver the government’s Plan for Water and ensure we maximise the opportunities within the next five-year price review.

"Together we can secure the greatest ever investment in our water environment. This will not fix all of the problems immediately, but it will enable significant long-term change and better environmental outcomes.

“We will play our role by transforming the way we regulate the sector. We will invest in new specialist officers, data and tools which will significantly increase the time we are able to spend on regulating the water industry.”