So far this year, 147 health reports have been logged by the Surfers Against Sewage (SAS) waterborne sickness dashboard. However, the link between the cases and water quality have not been confirmed by doctors.
It comes after the number of pollution incidents recorded by water companies in England reached a 10 year high, analysis from SAS shows.
SAS said it received 1,853 sickness reports through its Safer Seas & Rivers Service app last year – an average of five people a day.
Here The i Paper looks at the sites with the highest number of sickness reports recorded by SAS in 2025.
Poole Branksome Chine has three so far and the rest, including Westward Ho!, Southsea East and Budleigh Salterton each have two sickness reports.
What are the most common waterborne sicknesses?
According to the latest 2025 SAS sickness dashboard data, the most commonly reported waterborne sickness are:
Ear, nose and throat – 20 cases
Skin infection – seven cases
Eye infection – five cases
The 10 bathing sites in England most impacted by sewage discharges last year, according to analysis by SAS were:
Dart Estuary – 1,553 discharges
St Annes – 1,232 discharges
Wolvercote Mill Stream – 866 discharges
Walney Sandy Gap – 774 discharges
Fleetwood – 745 discharges
Water pollution landed swimmer in intensive care
The charity found that one sewage overflow from Southern Water in December 2023, into the waters of Aldwick, had lasted 343 hours.
“I became critically ill and spent six weeks in hospital care, including intensive care, followed by six months of recovery from open-heart surgery for a mitral valve replacement,” Ms Finlayson said.
How have the water firms responded?
A spokesperson for Water UK, the trade association for the industry, said: “We have been clear that the water system is not working and support the Independent Water Commission looking at every aspect of how the industry is regulated.
“This is part of the largest amount of money ever spent on the natural environment to help support economic growth, build more homes, secure our water supplies and end sewage entering our rivers and seas.”
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