Water Companies Failed to Report More than 50,000 Sewage Spills in Time, Charity Claims

Sewage pumped into Britain’s rivers for more than three million hours

Campaign groups say water companies are failing to warn public about hazardous discharge.

Water companies failed to report more than 50,000 sewage spills in time, charity claims

Water companies in England failed to report more than 50,000 sewage spills within the time required by law in the first half of the year, an environmental charity has claimed.

Shock failure over 50,000 illegal sewage discharges – ‘pouring into the sea for hours’

Huge failure to report incidents within the legal 60-minute timeframe, analysis finds

England's Water Companies Failed To Report More Than 50,000 Sewage Spills In Time, Charity Claims

The accusation by Surfers Against Sewage (SAS) has been disputed, with one of the country’s nine suppliers questioning the group’s methods. In what it calls a “first-of-its-kind analysis”, SAS alleged in its 2026 Water Quality Report that more than 4,000 of the delayed reports affected designated bathing waters, areas which are officially recognised for water use and monitored by the Environment Agency. By law, water companies are only allowed t…

Water companies failed to report sewage discharges within legally required timeframe

England’s nine water and sewerage companies have been criticised after failing to report more than 50,000 sewage discharges within the legally required timeframe in the first half of 2026, according to a report from Surfers Against Sewage (SAS).