I made the enquiry (Case: ENQ2025/40715) below on the 9th November and received the following responses below on the 8th December, my enquiry, 

“At what percentage level does the EA require water companies to report their spills for a full year?” 

• The current Environment Agency expectation for Water Companies is to report for a minimum of 90% of the calendar year. 

“If there is a required reporting level, what action does the EA take when the water companies report below this level?” 

• The Environment Agency would require a primary reason for not meeting the required 90% reporting threshold as well as any actions they have taken or are going to take to resolve the issue. For the example of Lower Lode Tewkesbury WWTW (2024 Data) the reported issue was sensor failure which was rectified in January 2025.

 My follow up question was; The following % of spills on the Avon were recorded in 2024 (which must be a breach of the facility permit),

 Welford on Avon Boat Lane 68%  

• Bidford on Avon Treatment works 81%
• Evesham Hampton Syphon 63%
• Defford 73%
• Tewkesbury Lower Lode treatment works 44%

Can you tell me what action has been taken in relation to these breaches?

River Avon

Welford on Avon 68% – Boat Lane (TSC4064): Reason for <90% reporting was a sensor failure/issue which was resolved in July 2024.

Bidford on Avon STW 81% (S/13/25360/R): Reason for <90% reporting was an installation set-up/design issue, the action to resolve this is marked as scheduled within the submission. A request to Severn Trent Water has been made on 09/01/26 to verify this has been resolved.

Evesham Hampton Syphon 63% (S/17/21990/O): Reason for <90% was a telemetry or data archiving failure/issue which was resolved in December 2024.

4 months of no data before it could be resolved?

Defford Village STW 73% (S/19/25866/R): Reason for <90% reporting was an installation set-up/design issue which was resolved in August 2024.

Tewkesbury Lower Lode STW 44% (S/17/26480/R): Reason for <90% reporting was a sensor failure/issue which was resolved in January 2025.

7 months of no data before a sensor could be resolved?

The following % of spills on the Avon were recorded in 2024 (which must be a breach of the facility permit),

• River Isbourne; Winchcombe STW 53%   
• River Stour; Mill Lane PS Halford 86% 
• River Stour; Cherington 80% 
• Bow Brook; Defford Village STW 73%

River Isbourne; Winchcombe STW 53% (S/18/26092/R) 53%

Primary reason <90% was a telemetry or data archiving failure/issue, the action for this has not been provided and is subject to an ongoing investigation, this will be reviewed following the 2025 data publication.

River Stour; Mill Lane PS Halford 86% (S/14/12195/O)  86%  

Primary reason <90% was sensor failure, this was resolved in April 2024.  

River Stour; Cherington 80% (S/14/26294/R) 80%

Primary reason <90% was sensor failure, this was resolved in January 2025.  

Bow Brook; Defford Village STW 73% (S/19/25866/R) 73%

Primary reason <90% was sensor failure, this was resolved in August 2024.

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