Environment Agency (EA)
Role
Environmental regulator and operational delivery body for flood risk management in England. Statutory duty under Flood and Water Management Act 2010 for FCERM. Monitors water resources, water quality, and agricultural compliance. National Agriculture Programme (est. 2006) provides baseline monitoring of water quality.
Strategies owned / administered
- fcerm-strategy-reports — FCERM annual reports; asset management; flood investment delivery
- target-delivery-plans — Agriculture Water Quality TDP: EA inspection funding (Pillar 1)
- Water resources annual performance reviews
Outcomes accountable for
- flood-resilience-outcome — 255,700 flood assets; 90,200 managed by EA; property protection delivery
- water-quality-improvement — Agricultural compliance inspections; water quality monitoring
- agricultural-pollution-reduction — EA inspection Pillar (scaled to £12m/yr by 2029)
Key figures
- 255,700 total flood/coastal defence assets
- 90,200 managed by Environment Agency directly
- 92.8% of high-consequence assets at required condition (target: 98%; declining from 94.5% in 2022-23)
- Inspection funding: £5m → £12m annually by 2029 (agriculture water quality)
Water sector functions
The Water White Paper (January 2026) proposes merging the EA’s water regulatory functions into a new single water regulator. This creates internal structural uncertainty for the EA during an active regulatory period.
Tensions
- delivery-confidence-fiscal-ambition — Asset condition declining (92.8% vs. 98% target) despite record investment
- water-regulator-reform-pr24-uncertainty — EA water regulatory functions proposed for merger into new single regulator