Sewage was discharged over half a million times into UK waters in 2024
Surfers Against Sewage protesters at Wallasey Beach(Image: Surfers Against Sewage)
Surfers in Wallasey joined thousands of other environmental campaigners across the country in a water-based protest of the ongoing sewage crisis. Swimmers, kayakers and bathers also paddled into the waves with placards calling for water industry reform in England and Wales.
According to the Environment Agency, water companies spilled raw sewage for a record time of 3.61m hours into sea and rivers in England in 2024.
Across the North West, a total of 656,014 discharges were made from United Utilities’ storm overflows into the region’s waterways in 2023. Those lasted a combined total of 97,537 hours, which is also the highest of any water company in the country and equivalent to a single overflow pipe running for 75 years.
On Saturday, May 17, thousands of water users united in a protest, coinciding with the start of the official bathing season in England and Wales – which runs from May 15 to September 30.
The event was organised by environmental charity Surfers Against Sewage. SAS CEO Giles Bristow said: “Another year, another summer of swimming and surfing in sewage while our shameless water companies laugh all the way to the bank.
“The public has simply had enough and will be paddling out in their thousands to send a clear message to government and the polluters: end this sewage scandal now.
“Our failing water industry has been trumpeting billions in investment to clean up their act, but we know that these fat cat bosses can’t be trusted to keep their promises.
“The proof is in the missed targets, shocking statistics and devastating stories of sickness we continue to see year after year. We’ve had enough of their lies, greed and incompetence and know that this nightmare will not end until the whole water system is radically reformed.
“The thousands paddling out across the UK are letting the water companies, government and Independent Water Commission know, loud and clear, that we will not accept another year of risking our health to swim in the sea.
“People should be free to use the water without fear of getting sick, and that’s why we developed the Safer Seas & Rivers Service, a free app that provides real-time pollution alerts, giving peace of mind for those worried about sewage pollution.”
Surfers Against Sewage protesters at Wallasey Beach(Image: Surfers Against Sewage)
The Safer Seas & Rivers Service provides real-time pollution alerts for over 450 locations across the UK, helping protect water users from sewage pollution.
A recent SAS poll of more than 2,000 UK adults, showed 54% were worried about getting sick if they swim in UK waters due to poor water quality Only 19% believed that, by 2030, they will be able to enjoy the country’s beaches, lakes and rivers without the risk of becoming unwell.
More than a third (37%) believed the actions of their water supplier negatively impacted their local community, and just 31% said they trusted the government to ensure water suppliers will improve infrastructure and reduce sewage spills.
Sewage was discharged over half a million times into UK waters in 2024, with English water companies failing on their Environment Agency targets to reduce sewage pollution incidents. United Utilities was the among the worst offenders, spilling sewage over 77,000 times.
Steven Kenyon, County Business Lead for Wastewater in Merseyside, said: “We’re proud to have been a founding member of the Mersey Basin Campaign which enabled the environmental and economic regeneration of the city’s waterfront.
“Since 1991 we have invested around £3bn in our treatment works and sewer systems to play our part in improving water quality throughout the river basin. In the next five years we will build on this investment by spending more than £240m across Merseyside to reduce spills from 20 overflows, which will help to improve bathing waters and rivers in the area.
“We are also committed to making further improvements to the wider Mersey catchment that will help improve water quality in the Mersey estuary. This year we announced a landmark agreement with Liverpool City Region and the Mersey Rivers Trust to explore the long-term solutions that will help deliver further water quality improvements around Merseyside that we all want to see.”
In March, United Utilities signed an MoU with Liverpool City Region Combined Authority and Mersey Rivers Trust, committing to a joint five-year action plan aimed at reducing sewage discharges, improving water quality, and boosting biodiversity across the region.
The authority also worked with the Clean Mersey Group, providing water quality testing kits to help them start to conduct water quality sampling across the River Birket and its tributaries.
Stuart Davies, from Surfers Against Sewage, said: “We are paddling out because we seem to be in the same place each year. We see record levels of sewage pollution in our blue spaces, especially here on the south coast.
“Many a time, I have been personally affected. I can’t go sea swimming. I can’t go surfing. I also volunteer for the Wave Project which provides surf therapy for young people. That’s been cancelled a few times, and we couldn’t go in the water. It makes me extremely angry. We are paddling out in protest of the scandal and to call for total reform of the water industry.”
Fellow protester and keen swimmer Shelley Sim said: “I’m joining the Paddle-Out because sewage doesn’t belong in our seas. Clean water is a right, not a luxury. It’s a place of healing and joy and sanctuary for so many people, and it shouldn’t also be a place of fear.”