According to the Environment Agency (EA), nearly 500 inspections of water company assets have happened in South West. Inspection teams continue to grow, focused on checks, enforcement, and regulation.

The EA has a goal to quadruple inspections to 4,000 by the end of March 2025.

Photo credit: Erlend Ekseth

South West Water sites in Devon and Cornwall have been visited 215 times since April. A team of 15 officers is dedicated to holding water companies to account and flagging issues for attention. Issues like sewage treatment works not being compliant with permits and putting measures in place to address concerns about storm overflows.

Across Bristol, Somerset, Dorset and Wiltshire, more than 230 inspections have been carried out by a team of 7 officers, with a second team of 8 expected to start early next year.