NEARLY 500 inspections of water company assets have been carried out since April in south west, the Environment Agency has said. 

New teams of inspectors have hit the ground running and ramped up checks of water company assets “significantly”, the agency added. 

The teams will continue to grow to support the Environment Agency’s goal to quadruple inspections to 4,000 by the end of March 2025.  

Issues like sewage treatment works not being compliant with permits and putting measures in place to address concerns about storm overflows. 

Across Dorset, Bristol, Somerset and Wiltshire, more than 230 inspections have been carried out by a team of seven officers, with a second team of eight expected to start early next year.   

Clarissa Newell, water industry regulation manager at Environment Agency’s, said: “Water company performance is not good enough. We will change that.  

“We now have more people who are very good at finding faults, flagging them, and checking progress.   

“This focused approach of turning inspection data into actionable intelligence will drive improvements in the water industry which we and the public expect to see.”