Water companies committed “environmental vandalism” by discharging sewage into bathing areas for 228,098 hours last year, according to a report by the Liberal Democrats.
The report warned swimmers of the potentially serious health risks from contaminated water, adding that families enjoying the outdoors over the bank holiday would be “horrified” by the extent of sewage spills.
The total duration of sewage discharged by eight water companies was found to have increased by 80 per cent last year from 125,808 hours in 2022.
There were 31,363 separate sewage spills, which was 47 per cent higher than in 2022 and the equivalent of 86 spills a day.
The analysis included beaches officially classified as bathing waters, which should be protected from pollution. Last month it was revealed that last year was the worst for sewage spills in England since monitoring began.
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The issue was similarly highlighted on Saturday when rowers competing in the Boat Race criticised the high levels of E.coli in the Thames, which caused illness among members of Oxford’s team.
Among the bathing areas most affected, Allonby beach in Cumbria, which has views across the Solway estuary, was blighted by 4,500 hours of sewage spills last year.
Haverigg beach, also in Cumbria, was the second most affected with 3,600 hours of sewage spills, followed by Middleton-on-Sea, just east of Bognor Regis, West Sussex, with 3,500 hours.
Giles Bristow, the chief executive of Surfers Against Sewage, said: “Picture the scene — the long weekend, an excitable dash to the coast, you run to the waters edge and you’re met with… the sickening stench of sewage.
“This is not a fiction, this scene is being played out right now, right across the UK, with our spectacular coastline, coves and beaches being treated with utter indifference by our profiteering water companies. The public get it — raw sewage should not be dumped into our rivers and seas. When will government and industry catch on? We need to turn the tide on the sewage scandal now.”
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Surfers Against Sewage is organising UK-wide protests on Saturday May 18. Nearly 2,000 people reported becoming ill after entering UK waters in the year to November 2023, according to the campaign group. Of these incidents, 60 per cent were reported at “excellent” bathing waters.
The Lib Dems called for the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies to review the health implications of sewage spills, particularly for river and sea swimmers.
“People visiting the seaside over the Easter bank holiday will be horrified to know that sewage has been dumped onto our country’s popular beaches,” Tim Farron, the MP for Westmorland and Lonsdale and the Liberal Democrat environment spokesman, said. “Water companies are committing environmental vandalism and this Conservative government is letting them get away with it.
“The fact that rowers and swimmers are now scared to get into our rivers and seas because filthy sewage could make them ill is a disgrace. Water firms and this Conservative government should be hanging their heads in shame.”
• One year of our Clean It Up campaign: what progress has been made?
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United Utilities, which supplies northwest England, including the Cumbrian beaches most affected, was the worst offending water company, with 10,467 sewage spills over 76,259 hours last year.
South West Water was responsible for 8,500 spills over 59,000 hours, followed by Southern Water, Wessex Water, and Thames Water.
Water companies blamed one of the wettest years on record for an increased number of storm overflow operations. Mark Garth, the wastewater services director at United Utilities, proposed a £3 billion programme to tackle the problem in the northwest between 2025 and 2030.
John Penicud, director for wastewater operations at Southern Water, called reducing storm releases a “top priority” and referenced the company’s £1.5 billion storm overflow reduction plan.
A Water UK spokesman said it urgently needed regulatory approval to upgrade the system but had a plan to triple investment.
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The Times is demanding faster action to improve the country’s waterways. Find out more about the Clean It Up campaign.
