* when accounting for under-reporting in Scotland and Northern Ireland.
In 2025, sewage was dumped more than half a million (500,554) times, lasting for over 3 million hours– the estimated number of sewage discharges in the UK in 2025 when taking into account underreporting in Scotland and Northern Ireland.
This breaks down to:
*Both these figures are likely much lower than the true number with only 20% of the network monitored in Northern Ireland and 30% of the network monitored in Scotland.
£74.2 billion – the amount paid out in dividends to shareholders by water companies in England and Wales since privatisation.
£1.2 billion – the total value of dividends paid out to shareholders by the private water companies in the 2023-24 financial year.
£69.2 billion – the value of the debt racked up by the private water companies since privatisation.
36% – the average amount water bills are expected to rise by 2030 under current plans.
35p out of every £1 – the amount of the average customer’s water bill that goes towards shareholder dividends or financing debt.
The health of the ocean and rivers has never been worse. Polluted waters represent a major threat to our health, the welfare of our wildlife, and the long-term future of our ecosystems. We believe it is a human right to expect to be able to swim, surf, paddle and bathe in safety without getting sick. And if you care about the UK’s natural environment, it’s time to take a stand and demand a cleaner, fresher future for our waterways.
Our waterways are polluted by a chemical cocktail of sewage, agricultural run off and contaminants from roads, urban developments and landfill. One of the main source of sewage pollution is through Sewer Overflows which include Combined Sewage Overflows (CSOs) and pumping stations. Water companies are legally allowed to discharge untreated wastewater through sewer overflows during periods of heavy rain, but we’ve found they are being used on an alarmingly routine basis.
The UK’s antiquated, outdated sewerage system is in a terrible state. It cannot cope with the combined problems of increasing population, urbanisation and climate change. The facts and figures on this page prove this.
Appallingly, the UK’s water users are as likely to become ill from seawater as they were in the 1990s, with conditions ranging from sore throats and upset stomachs to serious illnesses like gastroenteritis, hepatitis and E. coli. According to the European Centre for Environment and Human Health, people who swim or bodyboard in UK waters regularly are three times more likely to have antibiotic resistant E. coli in their guts.
