Water companies are polluting our countryside even MORE than they admit - and the Environment Agency is doing nothing to stop them, whistleblower reveals

By ELIZABETH HAIGH, SENIOR NEWS REPORTER Published: 09:45, 8 August 2026 | Updated: 09:46, 8 August 2026 Water companies are polluting Britain's countryside even more than is admitted in Environment Agency (EA) data, a whistleblower has warned. Official figures released by the EA suggest the number of pollution incidents caused by Britain's water companies is 20 per cent lower than the real number, the Daily Mail can reveal. Data published by the agency showed some 2,801 water pollution incidents had been reported in 2024, an increase of 29 per cent on the year before, something it branded 'unacceptable'. But figures obtained under Freedom of Information legislation by whistleblower Robert Forrester show the original release missed out hundreds of pollution incidents, and didn't even include eight of England's water suppliers. In fact, some 3,513 incidents of pollution were recorded against water companies in England in 2024, meaning a fifth were not admitted in public data. The number of serious incidents, defined as bearing a significant or severe impact to the environment, also rose by 19 per cent from the reported 75 to 92. Mr Forrester said the discrepancies are partly due to incidents only later being included, or given the correct category of seriousness, following lengthy appeal investigations. But no update is published to reflect these cases. The EA's position is that its report – unlike the FOI – excludes land and air pollution incidents by water firms, meaning these incidents are not disclosed to the public. A sign at Margate Main Sands warning the public not to enter the beach after sewage was dumped by Southern Water Your browser does not support iframes. And the figures only include water companies that deal with sewage disposal – so pollution incidents regarding eight water supply firms in England are not declared to the public.  Mr Forrester, who worked for the EA for more than 20 years and had a character based on him in Channel 4's dramatisation of the water industry scandal, Dirty Business, accused the EA of 'covering up' the scale of pollution. He blamed water companies challenging reported incidents and their categorisation, and said this means they are not recorded correctly. He told the Daily Mail: 'Covering up the scale of the problem suggests the priority for the Environment Agency leadership is still to protect the water industry rather than regulate them. 'This manipulation comes after many serious incidents have already been subject to delays in reporting and downgrading without attendance. 'It appears a culture of deception to the public, as opposed to transparency, and a continuation in restricting the frontline in their duties who desperately want to hold water companies to account. 'It is a stark reminder to those that support public control over ownership, as tough regulation underpins the public control argument.' He added that 'the bulk of the incidents kept off the official record will be due to challenges on their categorisation from water companies', and said this 'covers up the true number of serious incidents that are occurring'. The Daily Mail understands the EA rejects any claim it is deliberately underreporting or manipulating pollution incident numbers.  The worst offender in the mismatched reports was Thames Water, which the EA said had 523 total incidents in 2024, 33 of which were classed as serious. Your browser does not support iframes. The data obtained by the Daily Mail shows the real figure was 696 with 39 serious cases, a difference of 186 episodes of pollution. Anglian Water saw its total increase by 133 to 649 incidents, while Southern Water saw a jump of 68 to 400. The new data also throws into question the EA report's claim that water companies' poor performance in 2024 was largely due to extremely wet and stormy weather. Pollution changed little in 2025, with just 6 per cent fewer incidents recorded, despite last year being significantly drier, with widespread drought throughout the summer. Serious incidents did decline in 2025 to 78, down 16 per cent, but ten water companies also reported more pollution incidents than the year before. An Environment Agency spokesperson said: 'We receive 100,000 reports a year and assess every water pollution incident report made. 'The number of pollution incidents we report publicly is not significantly lower than the reality, in this case, two completely different data sets are being compared which has led to apparent discrepancies. 'We are committed to transparency, have fundamentally strengthened our approach to tackling water pollution and we don't hesitate to prosecute water companies who break the law.'