An overview of the plan
The total number of sewerage pollution incidents in 2025 was slightly lower than the previous year.
There was a reduction in incidents from our wastewater pumping stations and foul sewers, however incidents from rising mains increased.
Most pollution incidents were caused by blockages in the sewer, due to things like fat, oil or grease and wet wipes. Serious incidents are more frequently caused by burst rising mains, and these are a focus in our plan.
The PIRP 2026 aims to convert insights into action by:
- tackling the causes of serious pollution incidents by preventing blockages, replacing rising mains and tackling pressure issues in our rising mains
- reducing total pollutions by improving our processes to detect and respond to pollutions quicker and better
- working towards containing pollutions within four hours, to reduce the duration and impact of an incident.
