Environment Agency failed to visit serious pollution incidents, leaked files show

The documents and data shared with BBC News show an agency that struggles to monitor serious pollution events, the UK’s highly criticized environmental observer.

Information Environmental Agency (EA) sent researchers to a small part of the events reported last year and rely on water companies that may be responsible for pollution for updates.

This year’s internal EA certificate states that all serious events should be participated in potentially by personnel.

However, in 2024, EA did not go to almost one third of the approximately 100 water industry incidents, which eventually decided to pose a serious threat to nature or human health.

The agency also reduced the environmental impact of more than 1000 events, which initially decided to have potentially serious without sending anyone to take a look at anyone.

EA says that he “responds” to all events, but has ways to evaluate pollution that does not involve himself. “Be careful not to underestimate the seriousness of an event report,” he says when the reports arrive.

However, EA Insider, who provided data to the BBC, criticized the agency. “What does not agree is that you only deal with the evidence of the water company. And it is very rare that your own evidence is very damaging.” He said.

Among the events shared with the BBC were a situation that was poured into a reservoir and killed all his fish and EA did not join. Another time, the sewerage went into a garden for more than 24 hours without being deployed from EA.

BBC does not print certain details from the reports to protect the identity of the informant. However, they show that an agency replicated slowly and water company updates to frequent response to the EA documents before dropping the events.

Other documents show that there are pollution incidents reported to EA by water companies hours after the problem is solved and that the evidence makes it much more difficult to evaluate the effect as it may have been washed.

The data show that the agency generally went to only 13% of all the pollution incidents reported in 2024.

Oxfordshire -based campaign group Windrush to sewage pollution (WASP) (WASP) (WASP) (WASP) (WASP) A senior water quality campaignist Ashley Smith, “It is almost impossible to make them come out.” He said.

“They pass through a scenario they will say, ‘Do you have dead fish’ (when you call EA). And typically there is no dead fish because the fish can usually escape.

“EA then says – we’ll report it to Thames Water – and if there’s someone who contacted you, it will be Thames Water.”

Matt Staniek is a water quality campaignist in the Lake Region, and EA said that he proved from the local water company that he was proved to be wrong with his own data demands.

“The Environmental Agency does not hold United Utilities responsible,” he says. He continued: “And the only way to put them properly in the pollution incidents and try a really appropriate investigation, should not go to the media with him and the situation should not be.”

“We are leading the Environmental Agency to the Environmental Agency,” a United Utilities spokesman replied.

As a part of the government’s landing point examination of the water industry regulation, water companies promised to end the “self -reporting” of events.

Plans are being prepared to turn regulators into one by one, including EA, which does not work and controls different parts of the water industry.

James Wallace, General Manager of the Campaign Group River Action, “The Environmental Agency has been so carved so much that it cannot investigate pollution crimes, saying that they can effectively act impunity to pollutants.” He said.

In July, the BBC announced that the shortage of personnel led to the cancellation of thousands of water quality tests in the EA’s main laboratory in Devon.

An Environmental Agency spokesman said, “We respond to every water pollution event report.” He said.

“To ensure that we protect people and the environment, we are careful not to underestimate the seriousness of an event report when it comes. When more information emerges, the last event categories may change. This is a part of our standard work practice.”