17 Mar 2026
Photo by Ivan Bandura South West Water has pleaded guilty to 18 charges of water pollution spanning six years, in a prosecution brought by the Environment Agency that concluded at Plymouth Magistrates Court on 12 March 2026. Sentencing is expected on 4 June 2026. The charges relate to illegal discharges including raw sewage spills at five […]
26 Feb 2026
Image description: Water jets from a fountain suspended in the air. Image by Geoffrey Crofte on Unsplash A new factual drama from Channel 4, Dirty Business, charts the real stories of the pollution of England’s waterways since the water companies were privatised in 1989. To mark the first episode airing this week, Channel 4 unveiled a dramatic new art installation, ‘a fountain of filth’, on London’s South Bank. […]
21 Nov 2023
Dozens of popular swimming locations in England would be deemed “poor” quality if officially designated as bathing spots, according to a report exploring the “shocking state of UK bathing waters”, ITVnews has reported. Surfers Against Sewage (SAS), which campaigns for clean oceans, rivers and lakes, released its annual water quality report. The environmental group said 40 […]
15 Aug 2023
24 Nov 2022
Water companies have been releasing sewage on to beaches and in rivers even when it is not raining, according to a report from Surfers Against Sewage. The environmental group said that: For the first time, we’ve used rainfall data to investigate potentially illegal ‘dry spills’. Sewage outflows are only permitted in ‘unusually heavy rainfall’, but our […]
30 Aug 2022
A dozen companies are responsible for 70% of the branded packaging pollution found on UK beaches and the environment, charity Surfers Against Sewage has said. Almost 4,000 citizen science volunteers across the UK collected litter along 13,000 miles of coasts, countryside, streets, rivers and green spaces over the past 12 months, producing data […]
01 Dec 2016
The Surfers Against Sewage Message In A Bottle campaign is calling for a Deposit Return System for plastic and glass bottles and metal cans. In the UK we use a shocking 38.5 million plastic bottles and 59 million cans every day. These types of containers make up 40% of all litter (by volume). Deposit Return […]