The amount of sewage being dumped into UK rivers and seas is on a scale that “defies belief” and is putting public health at risk, water safety campaigners have warned.
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.
The most commonly reported illness is gastroenteritis, an infection in the gut which causes diarrhoea and/or vomiting, followed by ear, nose and throat infections.
It comes after the number of pollution incidents recorded by water companies in England reached a 10 year high, analysis from SAS shows.
The 2,487 pollution reports last year are more than double the target set by the Environment Agency, the charity said.
SAS said it received 1,853 sickness reports through its Safer Seas & Rivers Service app last year – an average of five people a day.
Some 331 people had to see a doctor, with 79 per cent of them reporting that their doctor had attributed their illness to sewage pollution. Fifteen people reported being hospitalised, according to the report.
Here The i Paper looks at the sites with the highest number of sickness reports recorded by SAS in 2025.
Ramsgate, Bantham, Gyllyngvase, and Rest Bay together top the table for the highest number of sickness reports this year with four cases each.
Poole Branksome Chine has three so far and the rest, including Westward Ho!, Southsea East and Budleigh Salterton each have two sickness reports.
Last year Westward Ho! was the third most common location for sickness incidents with 31 reports, Southsea East was fifth with 25 reports made, Budleigh Salterton came in eighth with 23 reports and Gyllyngvase followed closely behind with 22.
What are the most common waterborne sicknesses?
According to the latest 2025 SAS sickness dashboard data, the most commonly reported waterborne sickness are:
Gastroenteritis – 114 cases
Ear, nose and throat – 20 cases
Respiratory – 11 cases
Skin infection – seven cases
Non-specific virus- seven cases
Eye infection – five cases
The total number of cases slightly exceeds the number of sickness reports as some have more than one symptom, SAS said.
The 10 bathing sites in England most impacted by sewage discharges last year, according to analysis by SAS were:
Wallasey – 2,201 discharges
Dart Estuary – 1,553 discharges
Plymouth Hoe East – 1,511 discharges
St Annes – 1,232 discharges
Steamer Quay – 987 discharges
Wolvercote Mill Stream – 866 discharges
Spittal – 782 discharges
Walney Sandy Gap – 774 discharges
Allonby – 768 discharges
Fleetwood – 745 discharges
Water pollution landed swimmer in intensive care
Wellbeing coach Suzi Finlayson told SAS she fell ill after swimming at Aldwick Beach in Bognor Regis in December 2023.
The charity found that one sewage overflow from Southern Water in December 2023, into the waters of Aldwick, had lasted 343 hours.
In January, after weeks of sickness, Ms Finlayson was diagnosed with a blood infection that had led to endocarditis, a rare and potentially fatal inflammation of the inner lining of the heart.
“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.
She had to close her business because of the impact on her health and the demands of her recovery.
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.
“However, no sewage spill is ever acceptable and water companies are investing £12bn to almost halve spills from storm overflows by 2030.
“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.”
Read More Details
Finally We wish PressBee provided you with enough information of ( The 15 swimming sites with the highest risk of illness from water pollution )
Also on site :
- Assault suspect shot by police at Morgan Hill Safeway
- Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs Loses Bid to Delay Sex Trafficking Trial
- Motorcyclist shot and killed during Newport Beach traffic stop