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Climate and science reporter, BBC News
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The number of pollution incidents recorded by water companies in England is at a ten-year high, according to data obtained by campaigners.
Surfers Against Sewage said the Environment Agency data showed the number of incidents was more than double its target.
Such spills have the potential to cause damage to wildlife and illness for people making use of the country’s rivers and seas.
Water UK, the industry body representing UK water and sewage companies, said companies plan to invest £12bn to reduce spills by the end of the decade.
As well as reporting the total number of sewage spills annually, environmental regulator the Environment Agency also records the number of pollution incidents, which are likely to cause serious harm to wildlife and people.
Eight years ago, the EA remarked that the water sector was not doing enough to reduce these incidents. It said this was causing “distress to local communities and blighting rivers and beaches.”
The industry was set a target to reduce these incidents by 40% by 2025 against 2016 levels.
The latest publicly availably data is to the end of 2023. But following a Freedom of Information request, Surfers Against Sewage obtained the data up to the start of 2025.
This showed that 2,487 pollution incidents were recorded last year – a 31% increase on the 2016 levels, and almost double the original EA target.
“The water industry fails, fails and fails again,” said Giles Bristow, CEO of Surfers Against Sewage.
He called for a reform
