Water companies released raw sewage into England’s rivers and seas for a record 3.61 million hours last year, a slight increase on 2023.
The data released by Environment Agency on Thursday showed that although the number of spills was down each spill lasted longer on average – resulting in a higher total number of hours.
Some spilling can be legal, but concern has been mounting amongst scientists about the harm that regular sewage spilling is causing the country’s aquatic life.
Water UK, the industry body, has previously apologised for the level of spilling and has committed to a programme of investment worth £104bn over the next five years.
“These figures are disgraceful and are a stark reminder of how years of underinvestment have led to water companies discharging unacceptable levels of sewage into our rivers, lakes, and seas,” said Environment Secretary Steve Reed.
Sewage was spilt for 3.614 million hours in 2024 compared to 3.606 million hours in 2023.
England, like much of the world, has a combined sewage system meaning that rainwater and sewage share the same pipes. In some instances, when there is too much rain, treatment works can be overwhelmed, and sewage is spilled via overflow points into the country’s rivers, lakes and seas to prevent a back up to the system.
This practice is legal. But previous investigations by the BBC and Environment Agency have revealed that sewage has also been spilled by water companies under dry conditions in breach of their permits.
Water companies collectively oversee more than 15,000 of these overflow sites and this was the first year where all sites were monitored, revealing for the first time the extent of spilling.
CEO of River Action, James Wallace, said: “A year on from last year’s catastrophic pollution
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