Data obtained through freedom of information requests reveals a significant increase in raw sewage discharges by water companies into English and Welsh waterways during dry weather conditions. Between January and May of this year, water companies discharged sewage 7,280 times under dry conditions, suggesting the problem is accelerating despite regulatory measures introduced the previous year requiring companies to report such incidents to the Environment Agency.
Dry weather discharges are considered particularly harmful because rivers contain reduced water volume with no rainfall to dilute the pollution, concentrating the toxicity of raw sewage entering waterways. Last year marked the first time regulators mandated that water companies report dry day spills, with the full year 2025 total reaching 8,576 incidents. The current year’s pace indicates the situation may worsen significantly.
Robert Forrester, a departing Environment Agency officer with more than two decades of service, contends that dry day spills are typically deliberate and illegal, suggesting water companies may operate with discharge quotas regardless of weather conditions. He has characterized the situation as systemic criminality, arguing that regulatory frameworks fail to deter violations. South West Water alone recorded 1,299 dry day discharges in the five-month period, compared to 2,451 for the entirety of 2025.
Water industry representatives dispute the classification of the figures, stating that unverified data cannot yet be described as confirmed dry spills. They cite the need for validation before regulatory reporting and note that storm overflow activations result from multiple factors beyond rainfall. The industry emphasizes ongoing investment programs aimed at reducing spills, with companies pledging £12 billion toward halving storm overflow discharges by 2030. Government officials have acknowledged the unacceptable nature of pollution incidents and announced new accountability measures, though questions persist regarding monitoring data reliability and enforcement effectiveness.
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