The research carried out by the Centre for Ecology & Hydrology and commissioned by UK Water Industry Research (UKWIR) found that untreated raw water contained on average 4.9 microplastics per litre while water that has gone through a treatment process contained only 0.00011 microplastics per litre.

While the study has shown that current treatment processes are effective at removing microplastics from drinking water and treated wastewater, the water industry has now called on government and business to do more to prevent plastic entering the water environment and the sewer network in the first place.