Most sewage spills in England may be illegal, new research suggests

Most sewage spills in England may be illegal, new research suggestsImage source, Getty ImagesByJonah FisherEnvironment correspondentPublished1 minute agoCommentsMost of the sewage spills into England's waterways in the last two years may have been illegal but gone unpunished, according to new analysis.UK law states that raw sewage should not be released during "normal" weather conditions, yet until now the regulator has not clarified exactly what that means.But campaigner Prof Peter Hammond obtained a definition in secret court papers, and said it shows that for more than 80% of the time sewage was being spilled, the weather was "normal" - making the spills possibly illegal.The water companies and the regulator, the Environment Agency (EA), rejected the analysis and said they were working to reduce spill numbers.Failing water sector needs stronger regulation, says damning reviewPublished3 June 2025Record number of illegal sewage spills in Windermere last yearPublished31 March 2025Ex-Southern Water boss among four charged over alleged plan to manipulate water testsPublished7 hours agoThe last few years have seen growing awareness and mounting public anger at the amount of raw sewage that is being discharged into England's rivers, lakes and seas.The country's sewage issues are, in large part, caused by the fact that drains usually take rainfall into the same network of pipes that remove waste from homes.This means that when it rains, if there is not enough spare capacity, the system and sewage treatment works can be quickly overwhelmed. But until now, it has not been clear what amount of rainfall there must be before water companies can legally spill raw sewage into waterways. Campaigners have said this has allowed the industry to spill routinely with no consequences.Secret court documentsEarlier this year, a source at the EA sent Prof Hammond undisclosed documents from a court case against Southern Water for illegal sewage spilling...