Broken pipes. Broken promises. A broken system. The water industry is failing us all.
Our latest Water Quality Report reveals that sewage is being dumped into our rivers and seas on a scale that defies belief—and the people who should be stopping it are cashing in instead.
While private water companies handed £1.2 billion to shareholders, they also dumped 4.7 million hours of sewage into our waterways in 2024. That’s 592,478 spills in just one year.
At the same time, water bills are rising, targets are being missed, and public trust is circling the drain. Over a quarter of adults in England are so fed up, they’ve considered not paying their water bills.
Our latest Water Quality Report lays it all bear. Read the report. Use your voice. Demand change.
Our report reveals broken promises and missed pollution targets. Billions for shareholders, while customers pay more for less. Public health at risk, with zero accountability. And a total lack of transparency from those in charge.
In 2024, water companies in England recorded 2,487 pollution incidents—more than double the target set by the Environment Agency. This marks the highest number in a decade, despite promises to clean up their act.
The water industry was meant to reduce pollution by 40%. Instead? We’ve seen a 30% increase.
We’ve recorded 118,276 sewage spills by Dŵr Cymru Welsh Water in 2024—that’s more than one every five minutes, and the highest of any UK water company. And their 2030 target? A weak 30 spills per overflow—far behind the UK average of 21.
Meanwhile, the watchdog supposed to keep them in line—Natural Resources Wales—is asleep at the wheel, more focused on cost-cutting to pay off a £19 million tax bill than protecting our waters.
We uncovered 23,498 sewage dumps pouring into Scottish waters for over 208,377 hours. And that’s just from 6.7% of the network.
Scottish Water failed to report 73% of spills in real time. This missing data means the true scale is anyone’s guess—but we’ve done the maths. Based on current rates, the REAL number could be as high as 364,629 sewage spills. That’s a sewage dump every 90 seconds.
In Northern Ireland, only 2,967 sewage discharges were officially recorded in 2024. But with just 122 sewage overflows monitored, that number barely scratches the surface. If there was 100% monitoring, we estimate 61,732 spills—that’s more than one every 10 minutes.
And here’s the real kicker: Belfast Lough, home to popular swim spots and a shellfish industry, saw sewage dumped into it over 10 times a day last year. The public’s being kept in the dark, and the lack of monitoring means we don’t even know the full damage.
Our Safer Seas & Rivers Service App received 1,853 illness reports from water users in 2024 alone—that’s five people a day getting sick after entering polluted water.
331 people saw a doctor
79% were told their illness was caused by sewage
From gastro bugs to chest infections, even hospitalisations and heart surgery—the human cost is staggering.
These stories are just a few of thousands. Read more shocking stories in the report.
We simply cannot trust the UK’s water industry in its current state. Our Water Quality Report calls for urgent and transformational reform of the privatised water industry. It’s time to:
✅ Put people and planet before profit
✅ Give local voices a say in how water is managed
✅ Enforce the law—no more pollution without consequence
✅ End profit from pollution—once and for all
NOW is our opportunity for real change. The Independent Commission will be finalising its recommendations for water industry reform in England and Wales in May. This is our chance to be heard.
Take one of the actions below so we can show decision-makers that we won’t stand for (or swim in) this sh*t any longer!
