New data reveals water pollution up by a third

The number of pollution incidents recorded by water companies in England is at a 10-year high, according to data obtained by Surfers Against Sewage

A new report from Surfers Against Sewage (SAS) reveals that the water industry in England failed its targets for reducing pollution incidents for the last investment period (2020-25) as more than a quarter of adults in England have considered not paying their water bill. The Water Quality Report highlights the scale of the UK’s sewage problem and focuses in on the poor performance and financial mismanagement in the privatised sector, with the campaign group calling for urgent and radical reform.

Through Freedom of Information data, England’s water companies’ failure to achieve pollution incident reduction targets over the last period of investment (2020-25), has been revealed for the first time. Water companies were collectively set an Environment Agency target of a 40% reduction in pollution incidents but instead recorded a 30% increase. The 2,487 pollution incidents in 2024 are the highest in a decade, and more than double the target set by the EA.

Bill protest

Through a representative sample of 2,000 adults, SAS also reveals that 27% of people in England, where the water industry is privatised, have considered not paying their bill due to the actions of their water supplier, with just one third (33%) believing their water supplier will take the necessary action to end sewage pollution. This month, water bills in England and Wales increased by up to 47%, and are set to continue to rise, with customers due to pay £160 more in 2030 than in 2024.

More than a quarter of adults in England have considered withholding water bill payments

SAS’s report questions where the billions funded through bill payments is going, highlighting that despite new regulations and laws intended to reduce profit from pollution shareholders were paid £1.2 billion in 2023-24 whilst record hours of raw sewage discharged into England’s waters.

The campaign group is calling for the Government and the Independent Water Commission to consider this history of missed targets and broken promises and deliver radical transformation of the privatised water industry in England and Wales.

Why must we keep on swimming in rivers?

Giles Bristow, CEO at Surfers Against Sewage said: “The water industry fails, fails and fails again and yet is permitted to come up smelling of roses, while our coastlines, rivers and lakes suffer the stench of sewage pollution. The numbers are staggering: record hours of sewage discharges, huge bill increases, thousands of people becoming ill and yet still the industry has the gall to still pay out billions of billpayer money to shareholders.

“Things could not be clearer: this broken system needs urgent and radical reform.

“We can change things, if we change the way our system is run. Across the globe, the norm is to manage water at a local level, rather than the 100% private ownership model in place in England that has proved catastrophic for the environment and public health.

“The era of broken pipes and broken promises must end and be replaced by a fresh vision for water that ends pollution for profit and leads to a fair and transparent system – one that prioritises public health and value for customer money and delivers healthy coastlines, rivers and lakes.”

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Illness caused by pollution

In 2024 alone, Surfers Against Sewage received 1,853 Sickness Reports through its Safer Seas & Rivers Service app – an average of five people getting sick per day after using the water. The data only includes cases reported to SAS, meaning the number of people becoming unwell from poor water quality is likely to be far higher.

These reported instances of sickness led to nine years’ worth of sick days, with an estimated productivity hit to the economy of £493,200.

In 2024, sewage was discharged 592,478 times, for 4.7 million hours, into UK waterways

331 people had to see a doctor, with 79% of those reporting that their doctor had attributed their illness to sewage pollution. Water users reported hundreds of cases of gastroenteritis and chest infections, as well as serious bacterial infections and even hospitalisations.

Suzi Finlayson, a 42-year-old mother of two and avid sea swimmer from Bognor Regis became critically ill after developing a blood infection, leading to life-threatening infective endocarditis that was diagnosed in early 2024. She required open-heart surgery and was forced to close her business, facing a long recovery where for six months, she was unable to drive, walk her dogs or manage day-to-day household tasks.

Suzi said: “I became critically ill and spent six weeks in hospital care. This experience has completely changed my life, I’ve faced a long recovery, ongoing health challenges. This has impacted my family, and the financial strain of closing my business and being unable to fully return to work.”

“At the time of my infection, a sewage overflow from three pipes at Aldwick Beach lasted 343 hours (14 days), as reported by Southern Water. I was regularly sea swimming two to three times a week and was advised that my infection could have entered through a cut, my skin, or my mouth.”

“In all honesty I don’t trust the water industry. Lives and the environment are at risk and there is a complete lack of transparency, accountability and urgency when it comes to public health and environmental impact.”

Submit your evidence

This year’s Surfers Against Sewage Water Quality Report is published as the Government and the Independent Water Commission continue their review of the future of the privatised water industry in England and Wales. The Commission is currently conducting a public call for evidence which closes on Wednesday 23 April. Surfers Against Sewage is calling for transformational reform of the sector and is urging the Commission to publish recommendations that can deliver an end to sewage pollution. Specifically, the charity is demanding that:

• Water companies should prioritise people and planet before profit or shareholder returns.
• Decisions about how water is managed should have the input of local stakeholders: water users, customers, local authorities, engineers and environmental groups
• Regulators must enforce the law and hold stakeholders to account. Financial reward must not be permitted if laws are broken, and environmental performance is poor.
• The new system must be regulated to ensure finances are used efficiently and debt is managed sustainably, with investment prioritised to tackle sewage pollution.
• Water companies must be fully transparent around their finances, ensuring that no-one can profit from pollution.

Make your voice heard

Surfers Against Sewage is hosting a Paddle-Out Protest on 17 May. Wherever you are in the UK, you can join the environment action group for their “biggest national day of action yet”. Find a Paddle-Out Protest near you.

Take action for your river with the Big River Watch

The Big River Watch is a simple citizen science survey that takes around 15 minutes to complete and includes a handy pollution ID guide. It’s not all about the negative, though, as it allows you to record any wildlife you see and to reflect on the state of the river as you see it.

The idea behind the Big River Watch is to help fill a crucial evidence gap in river health and water quality monitoring, which will then inform better environmental decision-making. The Trust wants to see communities at the heart of these processes, so the data contributed by groups like swimmers is vital in helping our movement deliver improvements to rivers across the UK and Ireland.

The next Big River Watch takes place from 25 April to 1 May, and data will be added in near-real time to our Data Dashboard. So if you’re out by the river, you can turn a personal moment of mindfulness into environmental advocacy at the tap of a button.

Click here to download the app and speak up for your local river.

Read Rebecca Duncan’s insights on why we must keep swimming in rivers