Eight of nine English water companies rated poor or needing improvement
England's water companies have been rated poor or needing improvement on environmental performance, with only Severn Trent classed as industry leading and four firms given one-star ratings.
How it was covered
- BBC One was the only channel found covering it, concentrating on river pollution, rising bills and delayed government regulation.
- Channel 5, BBC News, BBC Two, Channel 4, GB News, ITV and Sky News: not found in tracked broadcasts.
The Full Story
A plain summary built from the channels that reported this story. Facts only one channel reported are attributed to it.
The Environment Agency's annual report has rated eight of England's nine water companies as poor or needing improvement on environmental performance, BBC News reported. Only Severn Trent was classed as industry leading. Thames, Southern, South West and Yorkshire received one-star ratings, the bottom of the class.
The BBC's report focused on what is in rivers. Dave Wallace has tested the River Thames near his home in Henley for three years. He found high levels of E.coli in nearly every test, and DNA testing showed the source was human faeces, the report said. 'Clear doesn't mean clean is the message that we've got,' he said. Asked whether Thames deserved its one star, he said: 'I don't think I'd even give them one star.'
Water bills have risen sharply while pollution has persisted. BBC News reported that bills had gone up by about a third on average over the last two years, with the promise that the money would be spent on reducing pollution. The report said people would be very angry. A water industry representative said it was unfortunate that bills were rising before customers saw improvement, but that investment had to be funded.
Water UK, which represents the water companies, acknowledged that the environmental performance of some companies was not good enough, BBC News reported. It said record investment would soon stop sewage entering rivers and the sea.
The pressure is now on the government to show that private companies can be made to work in the public interest and stop polluting. BBC News reported that expected water legislation would not come before Parliament this year, and was likely to arrive early next year at the earliest. Its focus was expected to be regulation rather than changing the ownership structure of the industry.
Dave Wallace said the prospect felt like 'rearranging deck chairs on the Titanic', the BBC reported.
Key Claims
Claims reported during this story's coverage, grouped by how many channels reported each one. Select a dot to see the source excerpt.
| Claim |  |
|---|---|
| Only on one channel | |
| Water bills rose by about a third on average over two years, with promises that the money would reduce pollution. | |
| Water company ratings classed only Severn Trent as industry leading, while Thames, Southern, South West and Yorkshire received one-star ratings and other companies were rated as needing improvement. | |
Channel Perspectives
What each channel focused on, with key quotes.
The BBC's coverage led with the Environment Agency's annual report and made the pollution personal by following a resident testing the River Thames. It pressed the companies and government on accountability, including rising bills, delayed legislation and the limits of regulatory change. The tone was sceptical and public-facing, with strong language from the river tester and a focus on what the results mean for customers.
- “clear doesn't mean clean is the message that we've got.”
- “I don't think I'd even give them one star.”
- “This feels all a little bit rather like rearranging deck chairs on the Titanic.”
Who was on air
People and organisations each channel put on air while covering this story. Channels' own presenters and reporters are not listed. Names as transcribed, and the list can miss people.
- 13:23 GMT
Broadcast Timeline
News broadcasts tracked for this story, in time order.