Sir James Bevan yesterday said the state of the UK’s rivers are “flatlining” with just 14 percent meeting good ecological status.
Speaking at the World Water Tech Innovation Summit, he told how that figure has stayed “stubbornly the same” for several years.
He said: “Our waters are nowhere near the condition we want…We are seeing too much pollution from sources we have known about for years: sewage, farming, industry and road-run off.
“Meanwhile new threats are seeping into our waters like microplastics and forever chemicals.
“Campaigners are right to be saying that this is not good enough.”
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He told how the public are to blame for water pollution, and not the Environment Agency.
People should stop flushing wet wipes down the lavatory and pouring cooking oil over the sink to help stop sewage pollution entering the rivers, he said.
Sir James added: “The Environment Agency is not responsible for the pollution in our waters. The people responsible for that are the people who pollute them, and it is on the polluters that most of the fire should be directed.”
He continued: “Polluters are not just big water companies or careless businesses – they are us too.”
In response to his speech, river campaigner and former Undertones singer Feargal Sharkey, said: “It truly is fascinating and also somewhat saddening watching this man try to reconcile and therefore distance himself, the board and senior management from the utter failure the EA has become.”
Ofwat, the industry regulator, raised the prospect on Monday of forcing water companies to claw back bonuses from directors if their companies pollute the environment, something the Environment Agency’s boss supports.