Several water utilities in England and Wales are “disappointing to their customers and the environment,” the industry’s regulator said on Thursday.
In its annual report, Ofwat said that despite some improvements, it remained deeply concerned.
This year, water utilities have come under increasing scrutiny following numerous incidents of pollution from raw sewage in rivers.
In November, Ofwat fined almost £132million for this reason.
The BBC has reached out to industry body Water UK for comment.
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The report examined the performance of the 17 largest water and wastewater companies in England and Wales.
Northumbrian Water, Southern Water, South West Water, Thames Water, Welsh Water and Yorkshire Water were identified as the worst performing companies.
In 2021-2022, the number of serious pollution incidents increased, and only four companies met sewage flooding reduction requirements.
Ofwat said companies “again have not explained clearly” how this performance relates to their shareholder payouts and employee bonuses.
Earlier this year, an analysis by Lib Dems showed that English water company executives have received almost £27m in awards since 2020.
Ofwat has ordered businesses to return nearly £17million to customers over lack of service.
Ofwat Chief Executive David Black said: “For some companies, poor performance has become the norm. It can not go on like this.”
Ofwat said they only spent 68% of what they intended on improvements.
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