Abstract
Comparison of the severity, frequency and self-reporting of pollution incidents by water and sewerage companies is made difficult by differences in environmental and operational conditions. In England, the deterioration in pollution incident performance makes it important to investigate common trends that could be addressed to improve pollution management. This study presents the first external analysis of available national pollution incident data, obtained through Environmental Information Regulations 2004 requests to the English Environment Agency. The study aimed to assess and compare the pollution incident performance of water and sewerage companies in England. Results indicated that there were significant variations in numbers of pollution incidents reported and the severity of the impact on the water environment for different asset types (operational property). There were significant positive relationships between the self-reporting percentages and total numbers of reported pollution incidents per 10,000 km sewer length for pumping stations and sewage treatment works. These results indicate that in at least these asset types, an estimated 5% of pollution incidents could go unreported. Pollution events that go unreported can lead to more severe impacts to the water environment, so rapid and consistent reporting of incidents is crucial for limiting damage. The results have significance for the water industry internationally, because the issues presented here are not restricted to England. In the short-term, research should focus on investigating best practice and standardising reporting of pollution incidents, so that an accurate baseline of the number of pollution incidents occurring can be determined.
Highlights
In 2000, the EU Water Framework Directive (WFD) set out ambitious objectives to achieve good ecological and chemical status in all water bodies in the EU
The objectives of the study were; 1) to determine the differences in pollution incident severity, frequency and origin across water and sewerage companies (WASC) from 2010–2019; 2) to determine the degree of variation in pollution incident reporting by WASCs across different asset types; 3) to assess the probability of the public reporting pollution incidents not reported by WASCs; and 4) to determine if current EPA pollution incident metric results are related to the operational conditions of the company
Company D managed to simultaneously increase selfreporting and decrease pollution incident numbers from sewage treatment works. These results suggest that increases in pollution incidents from pumping stations and sewage treatment works are largely responsible for declines in WASC performance in EPA pollution incident metrics
Summary
The objectives of the study were; 1) to determine the differences in pollution incident severity, frequency and origin across WASCs from 2010–2019; 2) to determine the degree of variation in pollution incident reporting by WASCs across different asset types; 3) to assess the probability of the public reporting pollution incidents not reported by WASCs; and 4) to determine if current EPA pollution incident metric results are related to the operational conditions of the company
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary 
Published Version (
Free)
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call