Severn Trent the only water company rated 'industry leading' for 2025

Severn Trent, which supplies Birmingham's water and treats its sewage, has been rated "industry leading" by the Environment Agency for the seventh year in a row, and was the only one of England's nine water and sewerage companies to earn the top rating for 2025.

The Environment Agency's annual Environmental Performance Assessment rates each company from one star (poor) to four stars (industry leading), using measures including pollution incidents, compliance with permits and self-reporting.

Four stars again

Severn Trent achieved four stars for 2025, with five of its six measures rated green, one amber and none red. It has now been rated industry leading in every year since 2019, and ten times in all since the assessment began in 2011, more than any other company.

It stands out in a difficult year for the industry. Across the sector, star ratings fell to 16 out of a possible 36, the lowest total since the assessment began.

A mixed picture across the country

The ratings were published alongside the first joint report from the four regulators of the water industry in England and Wales: the Drinking Water Inspectorate, the Environment Agency, Natural Resources Wales and Ofwat.

The report found that drinking water quality remains among the best in the world, with 99.97 per cent of tests meeting the required standards. Companies have cut internal sewer flooding in homes and businesses by 43 per cent in recent years, and water supply interruptions have improved.

But pollution remains one of the main concerns, with 2,991 incidents across England and Wales in 2025, 84 of them classed as serious.

Philip Duffy, chief executive of the Environment Agency, said: "People expect two simple things: safe water from their taps and clean, healthy rivers. Today's report shows good performance on drinking water quality, but on wastewater and pollution the sector is still falling short."

"We are stepping up inspections and enforcement and will use our powers to hold water companies to account and drive the improvements people and the environment deserve," he said.

Record investment ahead

Water companies have committed record investment for 2025 to 2030, with more than £104 billion to upgrade water and sewage networks. The regulators say they will make sure it is well spent.

Marcus Rink, chief inspector of the Drinking Water Inspectorate, said consumers "can have continued confidence that their drinking water remains among the highest quality in the world".

For Birmingham households, much of whose water comes from the Elan Valley in Wales and is treated at Frankley, today's figures are reassuring: their supplier is the best-rated in the country for its environmental performance, even as the industry as a whole is told it must do better.