𝓤𝓷𝓲𝓽𝓮𝓭 𝓝𝓮𝔀𝓼

Water companies have spilled sewage into bathing sites one million times over the last five years, it has been revealed.

Liberal Democrat Leader Ed Davey declared it a “national scandal” and called for action to make bathing sites safe for the public to use ahead of this summer.

He said: “Our rivers and beaches are the pride of Britain — but this bank holiday, families are being forced to check whether their water company has dumped sewage nearby before letting their children swim.

“It’s a national scandal. Parents shouldn’t have to worry about their kids getting sick just for playing outside in the sunshine.”

Designated bathing sites in England saw 145,606 hours – or 6,067 days – of sewage dumping in 2025, figures from the Environment Agency showed.

These are spots that are monitored by environmental agencies for water quality between May and September.

But Britons are fearful of swimming in UK waterways with over half of all UK adults surveyed for the Liberal Democrats (53%) admitting they would feel uncomfortable swimming, or letting a loved one swim, in local waterways.

The Party has called on the Government to make water companies report on spill volume, rather than duration, to stop them deliberately obscuring the level of pollution they cause.

Tim Farron, the Liberal Democrat’s environment spokesman, said: “We have given the Government countless cues to take action on this national scandal, yet they continue to move at a sluggish pace on any moves to reform the water industry.

“We cannot just sit idly by while yet more people get seriously ill when trying to enjoy British lakes, rivers and seas. The government must take immediate steps to replace Ofwat with a stronger, unified regulator.

“The Government must force the water companies to end the sewage cover up and bring in a regulator with real teeth to punish them for this scandal. Time is running out to clean up bathing sites so that Brits can enjoy them this Summer – without being hospitalised.”

A Water UK spokesman said: “The latest data from the Environment Agency show 87% of bathing waters achieved a ‘good’ or ‘excellent’ rating. This is a stark contrast to the 1990s when less than a third of bathing waters would have met today’s standards.

“No sewage spill is ever acceptable, and water companies are investing £12 billion to halve spills from storm overflows by 2030.”

A Labour spokesman: “This is a classic case of Lib Dems calling for change that Labour is already delivering.”

“We shouldn’t forget the role the Lib Dems played in the Tory sewage scandal during their time in government.”

A spokeswoman for the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs said: “This government is ending the era of water company self-monitoring, introducing new MOT-style checks on water company assets, requiring health checks on pipes and pumps, and bringing in ‘no notice’ inspections to help clean up our rivers, lakes and seas for good.