Water companies have failed to report more than 50,000 sewage discharges within the legally required timeframe, a charity has revealed. More than 4,000 of the delayed reports across England in the first half of 2026 impacted designated bathing waters, an analysis by Surfers Against Sewage found.
Firms in England must report sewage discharges within 60 minutes to ensure the public is informed when sewage is entering waters.
Charity chief: "We're living it"
Giles Bristow, chief executive at Surfers Against Sewage, said: "Imagine checking for a sewage alert, heading out for a swim or a surf, and finding sewage has been pouring into the sea for hours. Your water company didn't report it. In England, we don't have to imagine it. We're living it.
"Water companies have systemically failed to report sewage discharges on time more than 50,000 times this year. That's a threat to public health, and it's illegal. Yet we pay the price, through our health and our soaring bills, while water company greed and law-breaking go unchecked.
"The Government has finally started to look seriously at who owns England's broken water industry. But with every day it deliberates, sewage floods our seas, money flows to shareholders, and people get sick."
Yorkshire Water disputes figures
Yorkshire Water was the "worst offender" for failing to publish discharge data in time for more than 13,000 sewage discharges across the first six months of the year, Surfers Against Sewage said. The firm disputed the figure, saying it was nearly 4,500.
Last year, 1,568 sickness reports were submitted to Surfers Against Sewage through its app. The reported illnesses included severe bacterial infections, with some people needing hospitalisation.
Doctor warns of health risks
Retired doctor Peter Selley, who is based in South-west England, said: "Doctors and medical professionals working in coastal areas need to be alert to the risks from polluted waters as routine tests may not identify the type of germ responsible.
"As doctors, we see patients becoming sick after using polluted waters. So it's remarkable there's no co-ordinated response from the Government for medical professionals to follow when it comes to diagnosing, recording and reporting sickness cases in water users.
"Food poisoning is a notifiable disease – it must be reported to authorities to protect public health. However, illness contracted after swimming in polluted water is not, but it's clearly a growing threat to all our wellbeing."
Industry response
Water companies in the UK have come under intense scrutiny in recent years for their failure to invest in infrastructure which has led to sewage seeping into the nation's waterways. Shareholders have received large dividends while consumers' bills rocket and face hosepipe bans in the summer.
A Yorkshire Water spokesman said: "The figures quoted by Surfers Against Sewage do not align with our own data. Based on the data reported to the National Storm Overflow Hub, we have recorded significantly fewer publications outside the one-hour timeframe than SAS claim. We are seeking to understand the basis of their analysis.
"There are many reasons why discharge data may occasionally be published outside the one-hour timeframe, including delays in data processing or issues at specific sites. Recurring issues are assessed regularly, and steps are taken to make improvements.
"We are underway with a project to enhance the data processing of storm overflow discharges, which will enable quicker and more accurate publishing of data."
A Water UK spokesman said: "The English water industry is the most transparent in the world and we are the only country to make near real time storm overflow data freely available. Some of the monitors are in extremely remote locations and their signals occasionally need additional checks which can introduce short delays.
"No sewage spill is ever acceptable, and we are working to end them as fast as we physically can."
