Sewage dumped into English waters for more than 43,000 hours over summer

Water companies dumped sewage into England's waters for more than 43,000 hours during July and August, new data from campaigners Surfers Against Sewage (SAS) shows.

Of these, over 2,000 hours, the equivalent of two and a half months, of sewage was poured into the country's designated bathing waters.

Across the August Bank Holiday alone (28-31 August), sewage was discharged into bathing waters for the equivalent of 34 days.

England's water companies are permitted to spill sewage into rivers and seas through storm overflows during heavy rainfall - but SAS data shows that across the three heatwaves between May and August, sewage was released into bathing waters for nearly 14,000 hours.

Over the summer, 290 sewage alerts were issued through the SAS's Safer Seas and Rivers Service app, with nearly 85% of these in designated bathing waters rated as having good or excellent water quality by the Environment Agency (EA).

Locations with the most discharges include Wallasey Beach and Moreton Beach in Merseyside, Readymoney Cove in Cornwall and Plymouth Hoe East in Devon.

In addition to the spills, the charity said it received 636 sickness reports from people who reported becoming unwell after swimming in the nation's rivers, lakes and seas during July and August - including cases of gastroenteritis, skin, ear and eye infections and, in some severe cases, hospitalisations.

On Thursday, the group will deliver a petition, which has more than 330,000 signatures, to Number 10 - demanding a Clean Water Bill.

Prime Minister Andy Burnham has repeatedly criticised water companies and the sector's privatisation, going as far in July as saying the country had "surrendered control of the essentials".

While sewage is a big problem for England's rivers, it is not the only one.

In March, documents from the EA published after the 2025 bathing season identified 54 bathing waters as being currently "poor" or at risk of being "poor".

Faecal bacteria at these bathing waters came from several sources, but at 32 sites, agricultural sources contributed more than 10% of the total contamination.

At 35 of the sites, other sources, including urban runoff, dogs and birds, accounted for more than 10% of contamination.

However, sewage was still a significant issue, contributing more than 10% of contamination at 47 of the sites.

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A spokesperson from Water UK - the trade association representing the UK's water and wastewater companies - told Sky News: "The latest data from the Environment Agency show 87% of bathing waters achieved a 'good' or 'excellent' rating. This is a stark contrast to the 1990s when less than a third of bathing waters would have met today's standards.

"No sewage spill is ever acceptable, and we are working to end them as fast as we physically can. That's why we are tripling investment to halve spills from storm overflows by 2030 and upgrade the capacity of 1,700 wastewater treatment works."

A United Utilities spokesperson said they shared the public's concern and were delivering the largest investment in wastewater infrastructure for a century across the North West.

A spokesperson for the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs said: "It's totally unacceptable to see the scale of discharges polluting our rivers, lakes, and seas.

"Storm overflows should only be used in very specific circumstances, and this government has already taken action against water companies who are failing to perform, making it a criminal offence to cover up illegal sewage spills.

"But we know the status quo isn't working, and it's why we're driving forward the biggest overhaul of the water sector in a generation to deliver improved water quality for swimmers across the country and creating a powerful new regulator to hold companies to account."

(c) Sky News 2026: Sewage dumped into English waters for more than 43,000 hours over summer