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Water company fines fund local restoration projects

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Over £10 million in water company fines has been channelled into cleanup projects to repair the damage done by sewage– directly benefitting communities and the environment which have been harmed by rule breaking.  

Through the Water Restoration Fund, money from fines handed to five water companies will fund 51 projects across England, from active measures such as rewilding and restoring floodplains to funding for assessments of water quality and development of improvement plans.  

Anglian Water, South West Water, Thames Water, Yorkshire Water and United Utilities were forced to pay millions after causing pollution incidents between April 2022 and October 2023.   

From restoring riverbeds in Exmoor National Park to tackling septic tank spills into Windermere, these projects will restore precious habitats, improve flood resilience and enable local wildlife to thrive.

Environment Secretary Emma Reynolds said  

I share people’s anger at the damage caused by sewage pollution and want communities to once again feel they can take pride in their environment. 

This money from water company fines will be directed back into local projects to tackle pollution and support long-term plans for nature restoration. 

Under our Plan for Change we’re resetting the water industry – holding water companies to account and reinvesting in areas harmed by their rule breaking.

Projects, which span the length and breadth of the country, include a £1.2 million floodplain and river restoration project on the River Witham in Lincolnshire, as well as river restoration, nutrient capture and wetland creation in the Evenlode catchment in Oxfordshire. 

The Water Restoration Fund delivers on the government’s Plan for Change – empowering communities to invest money raised from water company wrongdoing back into the environment. 

The Government is committed to restoring our waterways to good health and will continue to direct water company fines and penalties into projects to clean up our rivers, lakes and seas. With increased accountability, record investment to fix broken pipes, and a new powerful regulator responsible for the entire sector that will stand firmly on the side of customers and the environment.

Projects and funding distributions 

Thames area (£3,318,392.84) 

  • Coate Water Site of Special Scientific Interest Restoration Project (£83,306) 

  • Restoring the River Ching (£175,729.13) 

  • Citizen Crane, Catchment Scale Restoration of an Urban River (£133,755) 

  • The Wandering Wandle (£161,217.18) 

  • Emm Brook Restoration Project (£743,146.64) 

  • Ilford Arrival, Restoring the Lower Roding (£113,415) 

  • Improving the Evenlode Catchment (£780,780) 

  • Rye to Good Phase 3 (£100,236) 

  • The Keston Ponds Project (£248,853) 

  • Colne Catchment (£143,737.89) 

  • Rediscovering the River Colne (£198,807) 

  • Ealing Regional Park River Restoration Plan (£250,000) 

  • River Windrush and Sherborne Brook Catchment Improvement Project (£102,822) 

  • Roundmoor and Boveney Chalk Stream Restoration Project (£82,588) 

Anglian Water (£3,036,664) 

  • Upper Witham River and Floodplain Restoration Project (£1,185,957) 

  • Great Ouse Blue Connections (£85,674) 

  • Recovering the Deben (£248,274.32) 

  • Slade Brook Natural Flood Management Project (£187,782) 

  • A Collaborative Restoration Plan for the Cam (£179,602.54) 

  • Welland Headwaters Nature-based Solutions (£107,053) 

  • 20-year Strategy for restoration of river & floodplain habitats in the rivers Nene, Ise and Tove (£165,976.57) 

  • Broadland Catchment Partnership Development Plan (£205,376.49) 

  • Stanwick Lakes Hydrological Survey (£118,272) 

  • Panford and Blackwater Catchment Regeneration Project (£552,696.08) 

South West Water (£1,849,513.04) 

  • Heddon Valley (£162,694) 

  • Otter Catchment- Source to Sea (£75,000) 

  • Upper Barle River Restoration Project (£147,496) 

  • Teign and Taw Fisheries Management (£664,286.50) 

  • Arlington Lake, Fish Opening and Habitat Enhancement (£80,558.68) 

  • Water Wise Farming (£81,105) 

  • Restoration of the River Mere Catchment (£202,267.24) 

  • Washfield Wetland (£202,609) 

  • Improving the West Looe River Water Body (£95,394.34) 

  • Catchment Planning – Avon, Gara & Slapton Ley, and Kingsbridge Salcombe Estuary (£138,102.28) 

Yorkshire Water (£1,533,722.28) 

  • Dewsbury Country Park (£76,570.85) 

  • Ashfoldside Metal Mines Project (£81,730) 

  • Solutions for the Swale, Ure, Nidd, Ouse, Foss, Wiske, & Wharfe (£75,236) 

  • Water in the Wharfe (£249,445) 

  • Foss & Esk River Restoration Improvement Studies (£130,060) 

  • Derwent Site of Special Scientific Interest Project (£79,054.44) 

  • Swaledale and Wensleydale Environmental Farmers (£222,960) 

  • Connecting Limbs (£225,817) 

  • Upper and Lower Staveley Weirs (£75,039.99) 

  • Pickhill Beck (£93,473) 

  • Feasibility Study for Doe Lea Catchment (£75,045) 

  • Hornsea Mere Restoration (£149,291) 

United Utilities (£758,161.50) 

  • Stalybridge Restoration Planning (£97,055.50) 

  • River Tame Barriers Modification Feasibility Study (£247,500) 

  • Lakes Biosecurity Priority Area Project (£140,320) 

  • River Cocker Catchment Restoration (£150,182) 

  • Windermere STEP (Septic Tank Engagement Programme) (£123,104)

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