New analysis finds most sewage spills in England may be illegal and unpunished
A new analysis suggests that over 80% of sewage spills in England may have been illegal and gone unpunished, raising concerns about enforcement and environmental protection.
The Full Story
A plain summary built from the channels that reported this story.
A new analysis by anti-pollution campaigner Professor Peter Hammond suggests that more than 80% of sewage spills into England's waterways over the last two years may have been illegal and have gone unpunished. The research examined nearly 1.9 million hours of spills recorded in 2025 and cross-referenced them with rainfall data. Under current rules, water companies are allowed to discharge untreated sewage only during heavy rainfall to prevent the system from being overwhelmed. But Professor Hammond found that the vast majority of spills occurred in normal weather conditions, when such discharges are not permitted.
The Environment Agency has never publicly defined what counts as heavy rainfall, which critics say allows water companies to use rain as an excuse for spills. Two years ago, the Office for Environmental Protection (OEP) found that the EA was not enforcing legislation properly because it was allowing spills in normal weather. The government responded by changing its guidance, but still did not provide a clear definition of heavy rain. Earlier this year, an Environment Agency insider leaked to Professor Hammond a formula that had been successfully used in a 2021 court case against Southern Water. Applying that formula to the water companies' own data, Professor Hammond concluded that 80 to 90% of all spills were in breach of permit.
The Environment Agency responded that the definition was specific to a particular site and that overflows should only operate during rainfall and snow melt. Water UK, the trade body for water companies, called the analysis hypothetical and said the industry is committed to ending all discharges. The findings have renewed concerns about decades of underinvestment in the sewage network and the failure of the regulator to hold private water companies to account. In a separate test at Little Moor Brook near Oxford, which flows into the River Thames, scientists recorded E. coli levels of 43,000 units per 100 millilitres, far above the safe swimming threshold of 900 units. A yellow heat health alert has also been issued for southern and central England, and a hosepipe ban has been brought in for more than 10 million Thames Water customers.
On screen
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Key Claims
Claims reported during this story's coverage, mapped by channel. Ordered by how many channels carried each claim.
| Claim | BBC One | Sky News |
|---|---|---|
| A water sample from Little Moor Brook showed E. coli levels of 43,000 units per 100ml, far above the safe swimming level of 900. | · | |
| Over 80% of sewage spills in the last two years may have been illegal and gone unpunished. | · | |
| The Environment Agency has never defined heavy rainfall, allowing water companies to use rain as an excuse for spills. | · | |
| The Environment Agency is considering the findings of the investigation. | · |
Channel Perspectives
What each channel focused on, with key quotes.
Sky News did not cover the sewage spills analysis story. Instead, it reported on a separate six-month investigation into toxic waste at three illegal waste sites, focusing on the health risks from chemicals found in air, water, and soil. The tone was alarmist and critical of the Environment Agency's inaction.
- “This is completely unethical, unmoral degradation of the environment and potentially health risks of the general public.”
- “What's the point of having environmental agencies if they don't do anything or don't seem to be doing anything?”
BBC ONE West focused on the new analysis by Professor Peter Hammond, highlighting that over 80% of sewage spills may be illegal and unpunished. The report emphasised the lack of a clear definition of heavy rainfall by the Environment Agency, the regulator's past failures, and the scale of underinvestment. The tone was factual and critical of both water companies and the regulator.
- “New analysis suggests that most of the sewage spills into England's waterways in the last two years May have been illegal and yet they have gone unpunished”
- “The Environment Agency has never said never defined what heavy rainfall is”
- “80 to 90 percent of All the spilling is in breach of permit if you apply this strict definition of heavy rainfall”
Broadcast Timeline
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