Research and analysis

Anglian Water EPA data report 2021

Updated 22 July 2022

Applies to England

This report provides company specific data and information on the Environmental Performance Assessment (EPA) metrics. It contains current year and historic performance data (as published at the time, based on data provided in part by the water companies). For further information on what each EPA metric and performance star ratings mean see our EPA metric guide.

In addition to the EPA metrics, this report contains a section on event duration monitoring (EDM) of storm overflows. For a comparison between water companies and wider regulatory information see the Environmental performance of the water and sewerage companies in 2021 report.

We set targets for each EPA metric. Company performance is then given a red, amber or green (RAG) status:

  • red - performance significantly below target
  • amber - performance below target
  • green - performance better than target

We review and revise thresholds every 5 years.

1. EPA performance star rating

Annual performance star rating after assessment of Anglian Water’s performance across all EPA metrics

Year Overall EPA star rating (out of 4) Star rating description
2011 3 stars Above average company
2012 3 stars Above average company
2013 3 stars Above average company
2014 3 stars Above average company
2015 3 stars Above average company
2016 3 stars Good company
2017 3 stars Good company
2018 3 stars Good company
2019 2 stars Company requires improvement
2020 3 stars Good company
2021 2 stars Company requires improvement

2. Total pollution incidents (sewerage) metric (category 1 to 3)

Main facts

For 2021:

  • 34 sewerage pollution incidents per 10,000km of sewer - this is rated as amber
  • 258 actual incidents (needed 179 or fewer to be rated as green)
  • 76,437km sewer length
  • performance was worse than the sector average (32) for sewerage pollution incidents per 10,000km of sewer
  • 1 of 5 companies (out of 9) not to be rated green

Annual number of pollution incidents (category 1 to 3) from Anglian Water sewerage assets, with EPA status

2011 to 2015 data

Year 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015
EPA status amber amber amber amber green
Incidents per 10,000km sewer 118 101 89 90 35
Actual incident numbers 518 446 392 394 152

2016 to 2020 data

Year 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020
EPA status amber amber green amber amber
Incidents per 10,000km sewer 32 30 25 35 28
Actual incident numbers 226 228 191 266 210

2021 to 2025 data

Year 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025
EPA status amber no data no data no data no data
Incidents per 10,000km sewer 34 no data no data no data no data
Actual incident numbers 258 no data no data no data no data

Annual number of pollution incidents (category 1 to 3) from Anglian Water sewerage assets, also showing EPA status and thresholds

Graph note: the EPA RAG status thresholds are set for normalised (per 10,000km sewer) numbers of sewerage incidents (see our EPA metric guide). We review and revise thresholds every 5 years. Equivalent thresholds for actual incident numbers are calculated using water company sewer length data - these are shown in the graph background and the table below.

EPA thresholds for actual number of Anglian Water sewerage incidents for the calendar years 2011 to 2025

Calendar year Red status Amber status Green status
2011 to 2015 570 or above 223 to 569 222 or below
2016 355 or above 183 to 354 182 or below
2017 to 2020 376 or above 194 to 375 193 or below
2021 318 or above 180 to 317 179 or below
2022 302 or above 172 to 301 171 or below
2023 287 or above 165 to 286 164 or below
2024 279 or above 157 to 278 156 or below
2025 264 or above 150 to 263 149 or below

Number of pollution incidents (category 1 to 3) from Anglian Water sewerage and water supply assets in 2021

Asset type Number of pollution incidents (category 1 to 3)
Combined sewer overflow 9
Foul sewer 98
Other water industry premises 0
Pumping station 90
Rising main 16
Sewage treatment works 40
Storm tank 1
Surface water outfall 4
Water distribution system (water supply) 21
Water treatment works (water supply) 1

Note: water distribution system and water treatment works (both water supply assets) are not part of the EPA total pollution incidents (sewerage) metric.

3. Serious pollution incidents (sewerage and water supply) metric (category 1 and 2)

Main facts

For 2021:

  • 14 serious incidents - this is rated as red (needed 3 or fewer to be rated as green)
  • 14 serious incidents from sewerage assets
  • 0 serious incidents from water supply assets
  • 1 of 6 companies (out of 9) to be rated red

Annual number of serious pollution incidents (category 1 and 2) from Anglian Water assets (sewerage and from 2021 including water supply), with EPA status

2011 to 2015 data

Year 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015
EPA status amber green amber amber amber
Serious incidents per 10,000km sewer 2 0.7 2.3 1.8 2.3
Actual serious incident numbers - sewerage 9 3 10 8 10

2016 to 2020 data

Year 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020
EPA status amber amber amber red amber
Serious incidents per 10,000km sewer 1.3 1.2 0.8 1.6 1.3
Actual serious incident numbers - sewerage 9 9 6 12 10

2021 to 2025 data

Year 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025
EPA status red no data no data no data no data
Serious incident numbers - all assets 14 no data no data no data no data
Serious incident numbers - sewerage 14 no data no data no data no data
Serious incident numbers - water supply 0 no data no data no data no data

Annual number of serious pollution incidents (category 1 and 2) from Anglian Water assets (sewerage and from 2021 including water supply), also showing EPA status and thresholds

Graph note: for 2011 to 2020 EPA RAG status thresholds were set for normalised (per 10,000km sewer) numbers of serious sewerage incidents (see our EPA metric guide). Equivalent thresholds for actual serious sewerage incident numbers were calculated using water company sewer length data. We review and revise thresholds every 5 years. For 2021 to 2025 water companies are in one of two groups with different thresholds set for actual serious sewerage and water supply incident numbers. The thresholds for actual serious incident numbers are shown in the graph background and the table below.

EPA thresholds for number of serious incidents from Anglian Water assets (sewerage and from 2021 including water supply) for the calendar years 2011 to 2025

Calendar year Red status Amber status Green status
2011 to 2015 18 or above 7 to 17 6 or below
2016 11 or above 4 to 10 3 or below
2017 to 2020 12 or above 5 to 11 4 or below
2021 and 2022 6 or above 4 or 5 3 or below
2023 and 2024 5 or above 3 or 4 2 or below
2025 4 or above 2 or 3 1 or 0

Number of serious pollution incidents (category 1 and 2) from Anglian Water sewerage and water supply assets in 2021

Asset type Number of serious pollution incidents (category 1 and 2)
Combined sewer overflow 1
Foul sewer 3
Other water industry premises 0
Pumping station 2
Rising main 5
Sewage treatment works 3
Storm tank 0
Surface water outfall 0
Water distribution system (water supply) 0
Water treatment works (water supply) 0

4. Self-reporting of pollution incidents (sewerage and water supply) metric

Main facts

For 2021:

  • 69% of all incidents self-reported, 75% from just pumping stations (PS) and sewage treatment works (STW) combined - this is rated as amber
  • 193 self-reported incidents, 87 incidents reported by others
  • needed 80% or higher self-reporting and 90% from just PS and STW combined to be rated as green
  • performance was worse than the sector average (77%) for self-reporting of all pollution incidents
  • performance was worse than the sector average (88%) for self-reporting of just PS and STW pollution incidents combined
  • 1 of 5 companies (out of 9) not to be rated green

Annual self-reporting of pollution incidents (category 1 to 3) from Anglian Water sewerage and water supply assets, with EPA rating

2011 to 2015 data

Year 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015
EPA status amber green green green amber
Percentage of incidents self-reported 64 71 76 76 56
Number of incidents self-reported 335 317 302 311 87

2016 to 2020 data

Year 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020
EPA status amber amber amber amber amber
Percentage of incidents self-reported 66 71 62 71 73
Number of incidents self-reported 155 182 134 208 170

2021 to 2025 data

Year 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025
EPA status amber no data no data no data no data
Percentage of incidents self-reported 69 no data no data no data no data
Number of incidents self-reported 193 no data no data no data no data
Percentage of PS and STW incidents self-reported 75 no data no data no data no data
Number of PS and STW incidents self-reported 97 no data no data no data no data

Annual self-reporting of pollution incidents (category 1 to 3) from Anglian Water sewerage and water supply assets, also showing EPA status and thresholds

Graph note: the EPA RAG status thresholds (for all sewerage and water supply assets) are shown in the graph background and in the EPA metric guide. We review and revise thresholds every 5 years. From 2021 the additional number in brackets is the self-reporting percentage for just PS and STW incidents combined. To achieve green status self-reporting for all assets must be 80% or above and for just STW and PS combined must be 90% or above.

Self-reporting of pollution incidents (category 1 to 3) from Anglian Water sewerage and water supply assets in 2021

Asset type Number of pollution incidents self-reported (category 1 to 3) Number of pollution incidents not self-reported (category 1 to 3)
Combined sewer overflow 6 3
Foul sewer 56 42
Other water industry premises 0 0
Pumping station 67 23
Rising main 13 3
Sewage treatment works 30 10
Storm tank 0 1
Surface water outfall 0 4
Water distribution system (water supply) 20 1
Water treatment works (water supply) 1 0

5. Discharge permit compliance (numeric) metric

Main facts

For 2021:

  • 98.2% numeric discharge permit compliance - this is rated as amber
  • 754 permitted discharge outlets from STW - 98.1% compliance (14 non-compliant STW)
  • 89 permitted discharge outlets from water treatment works (WTW) - 98.9% compliance (1 non-compliant WTW)
  • needed 8 or fewer non-compliant treatment works to be rated as green
  • performance was worse than the sector average (98.7%) for numeric discharge permit compliance
  • 1 of 4 companies (out of 9) to not be rated green

Annual discharge permit compliance (numeric) for Anglian Water (STW and from 2016 includes WTW), with EPA status

2011 to 2015 data

Year 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015
EPA status amber amber amber amber green
Percentage permit compliance 97.1 98.1 97.5 98.6 99.0
Number of permitted discharge outlets from STW 721 720 718 719 728
Number of non-compliant STW 21 14 18 10 7

2016 to 2020 data

Year 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020
EPA status green amber amber amber green
Percentage permit compliance 99.1 98.6 98.2 98.6 99.3
Number of permitted discharge outlets from STW 718 718 756 756 756
Number of permitted discharge outlets from WTW 77 75 83 90 92
Number of non-compliant STW 3 8 10 9 3
Number of non-compliant WTW 4 3 5 3 3

2021 to 2025 data

Year 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025
EPA status amber no data no data no data no data
Percentage permit compliance 98.2 no data no data no data no data
Number of permitted discharge outlets from STW 754 no data no data no data no data
Number of permitted discharge outlets from WTW 89 no data no data no data no data
Number of non-compliant STW 14 no data no data no data no data
Number of non-compliant WTW 1 no data no data no data no data

Annual discharge permit compliance (numeric) for Anglian Water (STW and from 2016 includes WTW), also showing EPA status and thresholds

Graph note: the EPA RAG status thresholds are shown in the graph background and in the EPA metric guide. We review and revise thresholds every 5 years.

6. Delivery of the Water Industry National Environment Programme (WINEP) metric

Main facts

For the financial year ending 2022 (cumulative year 1 and year 2 of the WINEP):

  • 100% schemes completed within planned deadlines - this is rated as green
  • 474 schemes completed (all completed within planned deadlines)
  • performance was better than the sector average (99.5%)
  • 1 of 6 companies (out of 9) to be rated green

Annual delivery of the NEP (WINEP from April 2020) by Anglian Water, with EPA rating

Data for financial years ending 2012 to 2016

Financial year ending 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016
Asset Management Plan (AMP) AMP5 AMP5 AMP5 AMP5 AMP6
EPA status green green green green green
Percentage of NEP complete to date (cumulative) 114 103 100 100 100
Cumulative number of schemes completed during AMP period 25 98 97 162 1

Data for financial years ending 2017 to 2021

Financial year ending 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021
Asset Management Plan (AMP) AMP6 AMP6 AMP6 AMP6 AMP7
EPA status green green green green green
Percentage of NEP complete to date (cumulative) 100 100 100 100 100
Cumulative number of schemes completed during AMP period 71 204 209 358 136

Data for financial years ending 2022 to 2026

Financial year ending 2022 2023 2024 2025 2026
Asset Management Plan (AMP) AMP7 AMP7 AMP7 AMP7 AMP8
EPA status green no data no data no data no data
Percentage of WINEP complete within deadlines (to date) 100 no data no data no data no data
Cumulative number of schemes completed during AMP period 474 no data no data no data no data
Cumulative number of water quality schemes completed during AMP period 324 no data no data no data no data
Cumulative number of water resources schemes completed during AMP period 123 no data no data no data no data
Cumulative number of fisheries, biodiversity and geomorphology schemes completed during AMP period 27 no data no data no data no data

Table note: AMP5 schemes that were completed early before their planned year were included in the cumulative delivery percentage (in some cases resulting in percentages over 100%). AMP6 and AMP7 schemes that were completed early before their planned year are not included in the cumulative delivery percentage until their planned year (cannot report over 100%). The EPA RAG status thresholds are in the EPA metric guide. We review and revise thresholds every 5 years.

7. Sludge disposal and use metric

Main facts

For 2021:

  • 96,169t (tonnes dry solid) total volume dispatched
  • 18,266ha (hectares) land used for spreading
  • 97% of sludge produced was used in agriculture

Annual compliance with sludge disposal and use metric by Anglian Water, with EPA ratings

2011 to 2015 data

Year 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015
EPA status green green green green green
Percentage of sludge compliant 100 100 100 100 100
Total volume of sludge dispatched (t thousands dry solid) 102.4 99.6 106.6 102.8 98.8

2016 to 2020 data

Year 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020
EPA status green green no data no data no data
Percentage of sludge compliant 100 100 no data no data no data
Total volume of sludge dispatched (t thousands dry solid) 103.7 98.2 110.2 90.6 82.5

2021 to 2025 data

Year 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025
EPA status no data no data no data no data no data
Percentage of sludge compliant no data no data no data no data no data
Total volume of sludge dispatched (t thousands dry solid) 96.2 no data no data no data no data

Table note: from the 2018 calendar year, we suspended the metric from the EPA whilst we reviewed our regulatory regime for sludge. The EPA RAG status thresholds are in the EPA metric guide.

Annual summary of sewage sludge disposal and use (dry matter) by Anglian Water

Year Sewage sludge used in agriculture (t thousands) Sewage sludge recovered non-agriculture (t thousands) Sewage sludge disposed (t thousands)
2021 92.8 3.4 0.0

8. Supply Demand Balance Index (SDBI) metric

Main facts

For the financial year ending 2022:

  • SDBI of 100 - this is rated as green
  • 27 water resource zones
  • 1,157 megalitres per day water distributed to the network
  • 1 of 7 companies (out of 9) to be rated green

Annual compliance with SDBI by Anglian Water, with EPA ratings

Financial year ending 2022 2023 2024 2025 2026
EPA status green no data no data no data no data
SDBI score 100 no data no data no data no data

Table note: the EPA RAG status thresholds are in the EPA metric guide.

9. Event Duration Monitoring (EDM) delivery

All water companies have investment in place to monitor all storm overflows by December 2023. We have published the EDM storm overflow annual return dataset received from water companies. This shows how often and how long the monitored storm overflows operated during 2021. The 2021 dataset also includes water company reasons for performance issues with monitors and reasons for high spill counts.

Anglian Water storm overflows

Year 2021
Total number of storm overflows listed in the annual return 1,552
Total number of storm overflows with EDM commissioned 842
Percentage of storm overflows listed with EDM commissioned 54.3
Total number of storm overflows with spill data 834
Percentage of storm overflows listed with spill data 53.7
Average number of spills per storm overflow with spill data 25.6
Average duration (hours) per monitored spill event 9.1