Reducing pollution
The North West contains a diverse mix of densely populated, built-up urban areas as well as many rural areas of outstanding natural beauty. Whilst each requires different environmental considerations, we will continue to protect and enhance the environment to create a region more resilient to impacts like climate change, improving it for future generations. Find out more about our approach to better rivers here.
With challenges such as population growth and climate change, we remain proud of our track record. We have proven in previous years what we are capable of, and we are determined to get back to industry-leading performance on total pollutions. Our serious pollution performance remains one of the best compared with other water companies.
Pollution Incidents
The Environment Agency manages and regulates environmental issues and incidents, and determines the classification of pollution incidents. You can find a definition of these at Common Incident Classification Scheme (CICS). We have sought to minimise pollution from our assets and operations. Undoubtedly, our performance has been impacted by an increase in storm conditions and power-related issues. To combat this, we have installed more alarms to alert us to incidents which may have previously gone unnoticed, and remain committed to using operational intelligence to trailblaze innovative ideas and support us to act proactively.
You can understand more about how we approach incidents, our focus on removing environmentally impacting pollution events and track our progress through our Pollution Incident Reduction Plans linked below.
Pollution Incident Reduction Plan 2025