A new report by campaigning group Surfers Against Sewage has revealed that 5,517 sewage discharge notifications were issued by water companies over a 12-month period (01.10. 2020 to 30.09.2021)  - an increase of 87.6%.

The Surfers Against Sewage (SAS) Water Quality Report 2021 outlines a catalogue of failings by the water companies.

Launching the report, SAS said:

“ Our findings categorically show that water companies are increasing the discharge of harmful amounts of sewage into the environment with devastating consequences to the health of people and planet – all whilst they claim that improvements are being made.”

“We are in the midst of a new wave of sewage pollution. In 2020 alone, sewage was pumped into rivers and seas nationwide over 400,000 times, totalling over 3.1 million hours of sewage polluting our precious waterways.”

Key findings include:

• 5,517 sewage discharge notifications were issued by water companies over a 12-month period, an increase of 87.6%
• 3,328 of the discharge notifications were issued throughout the bathing season
• One in six days have been rendered ‘unswimmable’ due to sewage pollution during the official bathing season alone
• One in three reports of sickness after bathing were correlated with a pollution event in the corresponding area
• Currently only 14% of UK rivers are deemed to have ‘good’ ecological status.
• Six out of eight rivers tested pose a continuous serious risk to human health

Water UK – water companies know they need to go further

Commenting on behalf of the water companies, a spokesperson for Water UK said:

“Water companies recognise the urgent need for action to protect and enhance our rivers and seas. Our recent 21st Century Rivers report sets out the key steps needed to achieve the radical changes we all want to see, including calling on government to bring forward legislation in a new Rivers Act that will provide greater protection for rivers in law.

“We know we need to go further and water companies want to invest more to improve infrastructure and stop harm from storm overflows and outfalls. With our coastal bathing waters we have a good base to build on with more than 70% rated as ‘excellent’, and over 90% as either ‘excellent’ or ‘good’.

“This improvement has come about thanks to collaborative working between industry, government, regulators and other stakeholders over several years. Water companies don’t have all the answers and, to get the healthy, thriving rivers and seas that everyone wants, we’ll need to tap into this spirit of collaboration once again.”

The findings come after the recent announcement that water companies are at the centre of a major investigation by the Environment Agency and Ofwat after admitting they may have illegally released untreated sewage into rivers and waterways.

Southern Water is worst offender – “consistently delivering the worst performance and most pollution”

According to the report, Southern Water is the worst offender – “consistently delivering the worst performance and most pollution.”

“After failing to provide hardly any sewer discharge notifications last year, this year we reveal that over the course of the bathing season, Southern Water issued 1,949 sewage discharge notifications, at an eyewatering average of 38 notifications per bathing water.

"Furthermore, almost 30% of the 286 health reports submitted to us came from Southern Water’s operating area,” the report says.

“Fundamental flaws” in current water quality testing regime

SAS says the report has also revealed “the fundamental flaws of the water quality testing regime” and is calling into question the current classification system used by regulators to indicate the quality of designated bathing waters.

SAS has found a higher average number of sewer overflow discharges notifications at locations classified as ‘excellent’ and ‘good’ than locations classified ‘sufficient’ and ‘poor’.

The report says this is opposite to the expected trend, suggesting that bathing water classified as ‘excellent’ and ‘good’ may in fact be experiencing significant sewage pollution.

SAS says the findings have highlighted the need to completely rethink the way water quality is monitored and move to a system that provides information on the state of the water in real time and year-round.

It goes on to point out that what this report most clearly reveals is that rivers are in the poorest health. Only 14% of rivers meet “Good Ecological Status” with none passing chemical standards, “suggesting serious issues of sewage and other pollution.”

Report findings are “shocking and outrageous, but by no means unexpected”

Commenting on the report, SAS Chief Executive, Hugo Tagholm, said:

“The findings of our report are shocking and outrageous, but they are by no means unexpected.

“The fact is, water companies continue to increase profits whilst causing catastrophic damage to river and coastal ecosystems, with limited consequences. Instead, eyewatering sums of money are paid out in dividends to investors and huge pay packets are enjoyed by CEOs.

“The public outrage around the sewage amendments in the Environment Act show just how deeply people want action. The government now states it has the legal tools to hold water companies to account – we will be watching and campaigning to make sure this is the case.

“The proof will be when sewage emissions are drastically reduced or eliminated, and our rivers and coastline meet the standards that the water industry should have helped deliver many years ago.”

According to SAS, its #EndSewagePollution campaign action, demanding legislation that legally obligates water companies to reduce sewer discharges, led to “a much stronger Environment Act than government tried to pass.”

Water companies are now required to:

• provide real-time year-round data;
• report annually on sewer discharges;
• monitor water up and down stream of sewer overflow.

The government is also required to put in place an action plan to address sewage pollution and was “forced to u-turn” so that there is now a legal duty for water companies to reduce the harm from sewer overflows.

More action needed

However, SAS wants to see further action and is calling for the government to step in to set and enforce new legislation, and “strongly regulate those who persistently pollute our rivers, waterways and coastlines.”

The report says:

The era of industry self-reporting and under-funded, under-resourced regulators must come to an end. The water industry must increase investment to improve, restore and protect water quality, and regulators must be resourced to act strongly against an industry that has deprioritised the protection of the environment for far too long.”

Click here to download the report in full.