SAS 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.
The report uncovers:
592,478 sewage dumps pouring into UK waterways for over 4.7 million hours.
£1.2 billion handed to water company shareholders while our health and planet pay the price.
2,487 pollution incidents in England—more than double the target set by the Environment Agency.
Over a quarter of adults in England are so fed up they’ve considered not paying their water bills.
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.
Pepoe are getting sick.
A fact know since the first SAS health surveys back inhere 1990
The SAS 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.
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331 people saw a doctor
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79% were told their illness was caused by sewage
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From gastro bugs to chest infections, even hospitalisations and heart surgery—the human cost is staggering.
The report uncovers
592,478 sewage dumps pouring into UK waterways for over 4.7 million hours.
£1.2 billion handed to water company shareholders while our health and planet pay the price.
2,487 pollution incidents in England—more than double the target set by the Environment Agency.
Over a quarter of adults in England are so fed up they’ve considered not paying their water bills.
Read the full report here.
