Official event duration monitoring (EDM) figures released by the Environment Agency last week has revealed a 31% reduction in spill duration for United Utilities, with the number of spills from storm overflows falling by 20%.
The figures show 19,720 fewer spills compared to the prior year, despite more rainfall in 2024 and nine named storms.
Over the next five years, United Utilities says it will undertake the largest ever investment in water and wastewater services in the North West, spending more than £13 billion to deliver for the environment, improve the health of rivers and seas and tackle leakage.
As part of this investment, it will tackle more than 1,100 storm overflows and reduce activations by over 60% by 2030 delivering the step change people want to see.
Matt Hemmings, Chief Operating Officer at United Utilities, said:
“Our teams right across the North West have been working extremely hard to make the improvements that people want to see benefit their local rivers, watercourses and bathing waters.
“From increasing storage on sites to looking at bespoke solutions such as sustainable drainage and new innovative ways of treating wastewater to even higher standards, we are starting to see the impact our investment is making, and this is helping us make great progress in reducing spills and improving river health.
“We are now embarking on the largest ever investment programme in our infrastructure that will see the biggest overhaul of the region’s sewer network in a century.”
