Southern Water has been tasked with making major improvements to the environment and water infrastructure.

The Environment Agency, in collaboration with Natural England, has obtained the largest ever commitment from water companies to upgrade the environment and invest in new infrastructure since privatisation.

The Water Industry National Environment Programme (WINEP) sets out more than 24,000 actions that water companies must take over the next five years (2025-2030) to fulfil their environmental obligations.

This series of interventions signifies a national £22.1bn investment in the environment - four times more than was secured in the last Price Review.

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Southern Water is expected to make several key improvements, including a 24 per cent reduction in the number of spills by storm overflows and a 39 per cent reduction in the amount of phosphorus entering rivers.

The company is also expected to achieve a 34 per cent reduction in leakage and a five per cent reduction in household water use.

Cat Fuller, Environment Agency area director for Solent and South Downs, said: "This significant level of investment by Southern Water to improve the environment is critical in meeting ambitions for the environment and communities here in the South.

"We will work with other regulators to ensure that water companies are held to the environmental aims of this programme which include protecting our rivers, improving our bathing waters and reducing storm overflows."

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Alan Lovell, chair of the Environment Agency, said: "This unprecedented level of investment represents a vital step forward towards ensuring we have clean, safe, and abundant water now and for future generations.

"We will work closely with Defra, Ofwat and other regulators to monitor water company progress and ensure they deliver what has been promised."

The agreed actions will lead to improvements in water infrastructure to secure future supply, habitats and biodiversity and drinking water quality.

Marian Spain, chief executive of Natural England, said: "The scale of investment in the Water Industry National Environment Programme (WINEP) is a positive step towards delivering sustainable outcomes for the water environment, nature recovery, biodiversity improvement and sustainable growth."

The investment was secured through Ofwat's final determinations announced in December and has been factored into upcoming changes to customer bills.