UK: 2,487 Water Pollution Incidents Recorded in 2024

By Staff, Agencies

The Guardian reported on Wednesday that water companies in the United Kingdom failed to meet their pollution reduction targets in 2024, as they recorded over 2,000 incidents, twice the limit set by the Environment Agency.

Freedom of information data reveals that water companies were given an Environment Agency target to cut pollution incidents by 40%, but instead of reducing spills, they recorded a 30% increase, with 2024 seeing the highest number of pollution incidents in a decade, 2,487 incidents.

A new report from the charity Surfers Against Sewage, which analyzed discharge data, public health reports, and crowdsourced pollution tracking through its app, found that England’s water industry failed to meet its pollution reduction targets during the 2020 to 2025 investment period.

The report further highlights that water companies paid shareholders £1.2 billion in 2023-24, even as they failed to curb pollution and oversaw record durations of raw sewage discharges into England's waterways, despite new regulations designed to limit executive bonuses in cases of environmental negligence.

Through its sickness monitoring app in 2024, Surfers Against Sewage recorded 1,853 cases of suspected waterborne illness, averaging five reports per day, with 331 of these cases requiring medical attention where doctors confirmed sewage pollution as the cause in 79% of instances.

Hundreds suffered from gastroenteritis and chest infections, along with serious bacterial infections leading to hospital admissions, all linked to contaminated waterways.