Nearly 500 inspections of water company assets have been carried out in the South West by the Environment Agency since April as it looks to ensure water quality improves.

A team of seven officers has conducted more than 230 inspections across Bristol, Somerset, Dorset, and Wiltshire, with an additional team of eight set to begin work early next year.

New teams of inspectors have also been established and the frequency of checks on water company assets has been considerably increased.

The agency plans to continue expanding these teams to help reach its target of 4,000 inspections by the end of March 2025.

South West Water sites in Devon and Cornwall have been visited 215 times since April.

Up to 500 new and experienced staff will be recruited across the country to carry out more inspectionsUp to 500 new and experienced staff will be recruited across the country to carry out more inspections (Image: Environment Agency) A 15-officer team is responsible for holding water companies accountable and highlighting issues that need attention.

These issues include sewage treatment works not complying with permits and enacting measures to handle concerns about storm overflows.

Clarissa Newell, one of the Environment Agency's water industry regulation managers, 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."

The increase in inspections forms part of the national Water Industry Regulation Transformation programme, which aims to recruit up to 500 new and experienced staff across the country.

These new recruits will enable the number of water company inspections to rise to 4,000 by the end of March 2025, 10,000 in 2025/26, and 11,500 in 2026/27.

The Environment Agency is already undertaking the most significant criminal investigation into potential widespread non-compliance by water and sewerage companies at thousands of sewage treatment works.

Since 2015, the Environment Agency has concluded 63 prosecutions against water and sewerage companies, securing fines of more than £151 million.

It is also investing more in water industry regulation, having secured an additional £55m per year to carry out increased water industry inspections and enforcement action, including £15.8 million Grant in Aid funding prioritised for water industry enforcement over next three years.

A further £15 million will be put towards enhancing its digital systems and tools.

Data and information from lots of sources will be combined to rapidly turn data into regulatory intelligence to easily identify and tackle the highest priority issues.