Anglian Water issued second-highest number of drinking water notices in last five years, new figures reveal
Anglian Water has issued the second highest number of drinking water notices in the last five years, new figures have revealed.
The water company – which covers areas including Lincolnshire, Cambridgeshire and Leicestershire – issued 49 drinking water notices between 2020 and 2025.
But water bosses have stressed that issuing these notices does not mean that their water is unsafe – and explained that such measures can be issued proactively to try to ensure steps are taken to keep supplies safe.
A spokesperson for Anglian Water said the company is “very focused” on understanding levels of PFAS – man-made ‘forever chemicals’ that don’t break down easily – across the region and carries out “tens of thousands” of individual tests every year.
They added: “We supply our customers with the highest quality drinking water and have robust monitoring and reporting systems in place to ensure our public water supplies remain safe, reliable and among the best in the world.
“We test for PFAS compounds at all of our water treatment works on a risk-based frequency as per regulatory requirement.
“We have confidence that all drinking water supplied by Anglian Water meets the Drinking Water Inspectorate’s requirements.”
The highest number of drinking water notices were issued by South East Water, where a total of 51 notices were recorded within the same period.
The research also revealed that Severn Trent – which covers parts of Nottinghamshire and Rutland, as well as Gainsborough – issued 27 drinking water notices between 2020 and 2025.
A Severn Trent spokesperson said: “It is entirely inaccurate, misleading and wrong to suggest notices mean water is unsafe to drink.
“Notices from the DWI can be for a range of reasons as part of planned investment and can be requested by companies to help make further improvements to already excellent drinking water quality.
“Severn Trent, along with other UK water companies, treat water to the highest standards, meeting strict government and regulatory targets to deliver some of the highest quality drinking water in the world.”
A spokesperson for the Drinking Water Inspectorate said: “Drinking water notices are primarily a preventative regulatory tool intended to support improvement and investment.
“A notice does not mean that water is unsafe to drink. Most notices require water companies to take forward planning, investigation or mitigation steps that reduce future risk to consumers.
“The increase in notices in recent years reflects greater regulatory scrutiny and the scale of ongoing investment projects across the country, not a decline in drinking water quality.”
The data was released by Showers to You and comes from a Freedom of Information Request which was submitted to the Drinking Water Inspectorate (DWI).
The figures have revealed that the number of drinking water notices which have been issued by water companies across the country have increased by 285 per cent in four years – from 34 in 2020 to 131 in 2024.
A total of 93 notices have already been issued by water companies so far this year, according to the research.
The DWI defines a drinking water notice as a “regulatory tool” to improve water quality and encourage investment and also reiterated that it doesn’t mean that the water is unsafe to drink.
Martin Smith, founder of Showers to You, said he felt the figures were ‘deeply concerning’.