A WATER firm has been told it much improve in a report into its performance on tackling pollution in Essex's waterways.

The Environment Agency has released its annual report on the performance of England’s nine water and sewerage companies.

The report shows that overall in 2021, the performance of the companies fell to the lowest level seen under the Environment Protection Agency.

Anglian Water has declined from three stars, rated as good company in 2020, to two stars, rated as needing improvement in the latest report in 2021.

The company has also recorded 234 incidents of pollution in 2021, up from 210 in 2020.

According to the Environment Agency’s four star rating, most of the companies’ performance declined.

Emma Howard Boyd, chair of the Environment Agency, said: “It’s appalling that water companies’ performance on pollution has hit a new low.

“Water quality won’t improve until water companies get a grip on their operational performance.

“For years people have seen executives and investors handsomely rewarded while the environment pays the price.”

Wild swimmer group Mermaid’s Against Sewage had hit out at Anglian Water for paying £92 million in dividends to its shareholders.

A spokesperson for Anglian Water, said:  “While we’ve performed well in some areas, we are not where we need to be in others. We’re extremely disappointed to have dropped to a two-star rating last year.

“This rating reflects a challenging year, especially given the extreme rainfall and widespread flooding we saw at the start of 2021.

“We learned a lot at the time, and while the impact was too significant for us to recover in 2021, we’ve significantly changed how we work since.

“Already in the first six months of this year we’ve seen a reduction in pollution incidents, and an improvement in our operational performance.

“Our focus on protecting the environment remains resolute - we’re ahead of schedule delivering our £800 million programme of investment to benefit the environment.

“We know there’s no room for complacency, and we’re absolutely determined to make meaningful progress towards achieving our zero pollutions goals”

For more information on the performance of water companies and to view the full report, visit bit.ly/3IEHJDe.