Towns in Devon, Wiltshire and Sussex are among those hit with a deluge of hundreds of sewage dumps in 2024, with one tourist town being hit by more than one spill per day on average.
Latest official statistics show that water companies in England and Wales spilled raw sewage 450,398 times in 2024, just 2.9 per cent lower than the total in 2023, which was the highest on record.
The total duration of these spills was an eye-watering 3.6 million hours, which is slightly higher than in 2023.
An analysis of Environment Agency figures by the The i Paper reveals the individual locations that were hit by the highest total number of sewage spills last year.
The popular tourist town of Salcombe in Devon was worst hit, with South West Water releasing raw sewage from a wastewater treatment works in the town 366 times over a period of 8,772 hours.
It comes more than ten years after South West Water was fined £60,000 for spilling sewage into the sea during the annual Salcombe Regatta.
Five of the individual locations with the highest number of spills were in Devon, including spots in Abbotsham, Roborough, Dulford, and Payhembury.
The hamlet of Hurdcott in Wiltshire is also among the locations that saw the biggest deluge of raw sewage last year. Wessex Water dumped waste into a tributary of the Avon 310 times for a period of 6,446 hours.
At Lavant wastewater treatment works, which sits just north of Chichester, Southern Water spilled sewage 287 times for a total of 6,829 hours.
In the village of Langthorne, Yorkshire Water poured raw sewage 282 times for 5,127 hours.
The weather will have played a role in determining these stats; 2024 was the eighth wettest year in England since records began in 1836. Devon is among the areas that recorded a particularly wet year, with the country experiencing its wettest February on record.
Sewage spills typically occur during periods of wet weather as water companies are force to release raw waste into rivers and the seas to prevent their systems becoming overwhelmed and sewage backing up into people’s homes (although its also been proven firms dump illegally when its dry).
But the law states that water companies are only supposed to do this in ‘exceptional’ circumstances. Despite the high levels of rainfall, it’s clear the law doesn’t justify the release of sewage at a rate of more than once per day in some circumstances.
Responding to today’s figures, Giles Bristow, CEO at Surfers Against Sewage said: “Ignore the industry spin: there is zero justification for sewage pollution at this sickening scale.”
Water bills will increase from next week to fund a £104bn investment in the sewerage network in a bid to reduce pollution.
Bills will rise at an average of £31 per year to fund the works, which water companies say will massively reduce the number of spills.
Some campaigners have criticised the increases and called on the Government to bring water companies back into public ownership.
James Wallace, CEO of River Action, said: “Instead of tackling this scandal, the water regulator has signed off massive bill increases for the public, while water company bosses continue to pocket obscene salaries and investors reap profits while costly debts soar. A third of my water bill services junk debt. It’s madness.”
The Environment Secretary Steve Reed labelled the sewage spill data “disgraceful” and said Labour was tackling the problem by banning bonuses for “polluting water bosses” and introducing tougher criminal sanctions.
A spokesperson for Water UK, which represents water companies said: “While these results are disappointing, we are starting to see the effect of investment with many companies reducing the number of spills in their area, despite 2024 being one of the wettest years on record.”
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