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An investigation by BBC Panorama has revealed that water companies in England are manipulating sewage pollution data to make it disappear from official figures. United Utilities, one of the companies implicated, allegedly downgraded dozens of pollution events, including at a famous lake in north-west England, which were all signed off by the Environment Agency without any attendance. The companies are set environmental targets by the regulator, Ofwat, and face fines for exceeding pollution limits but are rewarded for staying below them. United Utilities, which recorded just 126 pollution incidents in 2022, the lowest in England, was allowed to increase bills for its customers by £5.1m as a result. Whistleblowers, however, claim that the company has been wrongly downgrading pollution incidents and that the agency is failing to independently verify the data. The company denies misreporting pollution. Panorama obtained 200 reports of pollution incidents at United Utilities' sewage works in 2022, with more than 60 cases incorrectly downgraded to the lowest level. The incidents were not counted in official figures as supposed to have had no environmental impact. Two experts agree that none should have been classified as such. If these cases were wrongly downgraded, the company would not have been awarded its bonus for reducing pollution incidents. One case occurred in the Lake District, where raw sewage was pumped into Windermere. United Utilities denied this initially but company documents prove it took place. Another incident took place at the Wallasey pumping station in Liverpool, where untreated sewage was released into a Site of Special Scientific Interest. The company insists it is false to suggest it misreports pollution incidents and that the final categorisations are decided by the Environment Agency. The agency declined to be interviewed but stated that it takes its environmental protection responsibility seriously and responds to every incident.