In just one year, England and Wales’ waterways had sewage pumped into them for at least 3.4million hours, according to recent figures.
Data from 2021, analysed by Top of the Poops, has revealed the horrifying extent to which rivers, canals, the sea and other bodies have been polluted by water companies.
It has also highlighted the most polluted local rivers across England and Wales, where just one waterway had sewage pumped into it on over 2,500 separate occasions.
Numbers from the Environment Agency - crunched by Top of the Poops - has also revealed the water companies most guilty of spilling sewage into the country’s water.
The figures were also likely an underestimate because the companies don’t always reliably collect data, with some monitoring defective, or absent entirely, it said.
Such is the extent of the pollution, that 2021 saw sewage pumped out into water for the equivalent time of at least 388 years across countless different pollution hotspots.
The River Severn was the most polluted river, and had seen 28,741 hours of sewage pumped into it on 2,656 occasions by Severn Trent Water.
Other companies most responsible for pollution were Yorkshire Water, South West Water, Dwr Cymru and United Utilities.
The River Calder was the second most polluted waterway with 27,901 hours of sewage pumped into it on 4,055 occasions by Yorkshire Water.
The same company was responsible for polluting the River Aire, the third most polluted river, on 4,085 occasions for 21,140 minutes.
These shocking figures came as Tory government ministers were reportedly about to row back on massive multimillion fines for water companies spilling sewage.
Environment Secretary Therese Coffey reportedly thinks that fines of up to £250million for such polluters are “disproportionate”.
But Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said, during a visit to Oldham, that he would “welcome tougher fines for water companies”.
20 most polluted rivers in England and Wales and responsible water companies
- River Severn - Severn Trent Water
- River Calder - Yorkshire Water
- River Aire - Yorkshire Water
- Unknown - South West Water
- River Derwent - Severn Trent Water
- River Ouse - Yorkshire Water
- River Tamar - South West Water
- River Trent - Severn Trent Water
- River Teifi - Dwr Cymru
- River Eden - United Utilities
- River Erewash - Severn Trent Water
- River Usk - Dwr Cymru
- River Irwell - United Utilities
- River Wye - Dwr Cymru
- River Don - Yorkshire Water
- River Wharfe - Yorkshire Water
- River Tawe - Dwr Cymru
- Menai Strait - Dwr Cymru
- River Rother - Southern Water
- River Taf - Dwr Cymru
But it’s not just rivers that are being polluted by water companies.
Up and down England and Wales, coastal beauty spots are being spoiled as sewage is pumped out into the sea.
United Utilities is responsible for the majority of coastal pollution hotspots across England and Wales.
This may be to do with data reporting, if other water companies weren’t recording or monitoring their own pollution on the coast.
But across the North West, the area has some of the worst pollution spots, stretching up and down the coast.
10 most polluted coastal spots in England and Wales and responsible water companies
- Morecambe South - United Utilities
- New Brighton - United Utilities
- Southport, St Annes Pier, St Annes North and Blackpool South - United Utilities
- Haverigg, Walney Biggar Bank, Walney West Shore, and Walney Sandy Gap - United Utilities
- St Annes - United Utilities
- Seascale - United Utilities
- Allonby - United Utilities
- Plymouth Hoe (east) - South West Water
- Morfa Nefyn - Dwr Cymru
- Rhyl - Dwr Cymru
This data paints a dire picture for beach-goers, but there are a number of factors that affect the numbers.
The water companies listed above generally are better at monitoring than others, for example, Yorkshire Water monitor 97 per cent of their overflows, meaning the company is more aware of where and when it is polluting.
Similarly, a fact pointed out by a number of water companies is that sewage discharge isn't the only factor in polluting waterways, and other sectors like agriculture and run off of chemicals used in fields can also impact the quality of water.
A Yorkshire Water spokesperson said: “We completely understand the continued interest in the health of Yorkshire’s rivers, and we are working hard to reduce the frequency and duration of storm overflows across our region
“Between 2020 and 2025 we’re investing almost £1bn to improve the region’s rivers, including the Calder, Aire and Ouse indicating our continued commitment to improving water quality in Yorkshire.”
A Severn Trent spokesperson said: “We are moving faster than sector targets to improve the quality of the region’s rivers. We have committed that our operations will not be the reason for any stretch of river in the whole Severn Trent region to be classified as unhealthy by 2030 and we’re continuing to invest £100m a year to go even further in improving river quality.
“We’re consistently recognised for our industry leading performance, receiving the highest four-star rating by the Environment Agency, and are committed to being open and transparent about our performance and our plans.
“Many sectors and activities impact on the quality of our rivers so whilst we continue to minimise our impact, we’ve committed to continue working with others - such as the agricultural sector – to help reduce theirs.”
A United Utilities spokesperson said: “We care passionately about our customers, communities and the environment and are already reducing the frequency of storm overflow operation by one third and improving almost 200 kilometres of waterways.
"With the largest combined sewer network in the country and 28% more rainfall in our region than the UK average, our investment plans from 2025 onwards will see one of the biggest environmental improvement programmes in the country.
"This will deliver the step change in environmental performance that all our rivers need and which we all want to see.”
A spokesperson from Natural Resources Wales said: “NRW is concerned about the impact of storm discharges on our water quality. We are taking action to address the issue via the Wales Better River Quality Taskforce.
“The taskforce brings together Welsh Government, NRW, Ofwat, Dŵr Cymru and Hafren Dyfrdwy, with independent advice from Afonydd Cymru and the Consumer Council for Water. Collaboratively, the Taskforce has published a series of action plans to gather greater evidence on the impact of storm overflows on our rivers and the sea to reduce the impacts they cause, to improve regulation and to educate the public on sewer misuse.
“Water companies have a responsibility to the environment, as well as their customers, and they must take this issue seriously. We will continue to challenge the water companies to make sure storm overflows are properly controlled. We will investigate any cases of non-compliance and where appropriate take the required enforcement action.”
