London: The UK government on Sunday promised to halve sewage pollution caused by water companies by 2030, after the number of serious contamination incidents in England was revealed to have risen by 60 percent in a year.

Privatised in 1989, UK water companies have been under attack over the discharge of significant quantities of sewage into rivers, lakes and the sea.

Environment Secretary Steve Reed said water industry regulator Ofwat, which is reportedly facing abolition, was "clearly failing".

"It's failed everybody. It's failed customers, we saw those huge bill rises. It's failed the environment," he told the BBC.

"I've been up and down this country and spoken to wild swimmers, parents, everybody furious about the state of our water," Reed said, adding that regulation of the industry "must change".

Suffering from underinvestment in a sewerage system that dates largely back to the Victorian era, UK water companies have faced a barrage of criticism for several years over pollution.

Britain's public spending watchdog warned in April that the water sector as a whole will need to invest £290 billion ($388 billion) over the next 25 years to meet environmental and supply challenges.

The government pledge comes after the Environment Agency on Friday said the number of serious pollution incidents caused by the water firms in England rose by 60 percent in 2024.

On Monday, a landmark review of the water industry will outline recommendations to the government on tackling the sector's environmental and financial performance.

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