e-Digest Statistics about: Inland Water Quality and Use
Influences on freshwater quality and their control
Pollution incidents
In 2005, there were 10,846 pollution incidents in England and Wales which were assessed as having had some impact (Categories 1-3) on the water environment. Table 18 summarises these by Environment Agency region and also shows all substantiated incidents for Scotland and Northern Ireland. Substantiated incidents for Scotland and Northern Ireland may include some incidents in which there was no significant impact on the water environment.
Since 1999, all substantiated pollution incidents in England and Wales have been classified into 4 categories 1, 2, 3, 4 - in order of the severity of their impact on the water environment, as shown in Table 19. Category 1 and 2 incidents are thought less likely to have been influenced by changes over time in the reporting system and reporting rates, and thus may provide a more meaningful indication of actual trends in pollution incidents. Categories 3 and 4 are certainly not directly comparable with classifications used prior to 1999. Category 4 incidents are those that had no impact on the water environment (although they may have had an impact on land or air environments).
In Northern Ireland, EHS classify pollution incidents into 4 categories that are aligned with the EA categories. However these are termed High, Medium, Low and Unsubstantiated in order of the severity of their impact on the water environment. Incidents assessed as High Severity by EHS are equivalent to EA category 1 incidents, Medium Severity is equivalent to EA category 2 and Low Severity is equivalent to EA category 3. Unsubstantiated incidents are equivalent to EA category 4 and are identified as those that had no impact on the water environment.
Table 19 also shows the number of major (Category 1) substantiated water pollution incidents in England and Wales by source and type of pollutant. The number of category 1 incidents fell between 1994 and 2004 from 229 to 99.
Table 32 shows information on UK prosecutions for water pollution in the period 1990-2005. The prosecutions, however, exclude legal cautions and also any prosecutions made after the end of the year of the incident.
Pollution incidents – Water, air and land
In 1999 the Environment Agency introduced a harmonised recording system covering all pollution incidents, including those relating to the air or land environments as well as water. Table 33 shows summary results for 2005 from this system. In the new system, the impact of each incident is assessed separately for each of the three media. An incident may not have the same impact on all media, for example a fly-tipping incident could be recorded as Category 2 for land quality and Category 4 for both air and water. More detailed information on pollution incidents in England and Wales can be found on the Environment Agency website.
Further Information:
Data Tables:
- References, further reading and links to other resources:
- Pollution incidents in England and Wales 2005 Environment Agency, Website: Environment Agency - Pollution Incidents
- SEPA Annual Report 2005/2006. Scottish Environment Protection Agency, Website: SEPA Annual Report 2005/2006
- Environment and Heritage Service (EHS) Annual Water Pollution Incident and Prosecution Statistics Report, Website: Water Pollution Incidents and Enforcement, 2004 (PDF download).
- Internet Links:
- For national and local information see:
- England and Wales: Environment Agency - Pollution Incidents
- Scotland: Scottish Environment Protection Agency - Water Pollution Incidents
- Northern Ireland: Environment and Heritage Service - Water Pollution
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Page last modified: 14 March 2007
Page published: 16 February 2006