Implementing Sewage Pollution Reduction Methods
The purpose of a sewer is to keep effluent and wastewater within a controlled treatment space away from the environment, and removed from human habitation and businesses. However, pollution from sewage is a real issue in many parts of the UK, with wide ranging impacts on the surrounding environment, animals, plants, and people living in the area.
This article discusses how we can prevent sewage pollution and establish a greener and more efficient wastewater management infrastructure.
Pollution From Sewage: What The Stats Say
Pollution from sewage and sewage pollution prevention are growing issues in the 2020s, with a sobering roster of stats highlighting the seriousness of the issue. For example:
In 2024, the Water Quality Report published by advocacy charity Surfers Against Sewage recorded 450,398 monitored sewage spill events in English rivers and coastal areas, totalling 3.61 million hours. The report went on to reveal that each storm overflow or combined sewer overflow outlet in England averaged 31.8 spills over the year, with an average duration of eight hours per spill.
In Wales in the same year, according to Welsh Water (also cited in the Surfers Against Sewage Report), a spill took place every five minutes (!), for an annual total of 118,276 spillage events. There was a similar picture in Scotland. Although the data collected only covered 6.7% of the Scottish water network, 23,498 pollution events were recorded in 2024, lasting over 208,000 hours.
According to data released by the Environment Agency in March 2025 and published in the Guardian, none of the rivers or coastal waters surveyed in England and Northern Ireland achieved ‘good status’ for their overall condition, with high volumes of E. coli and agricultural nutrients detected in many public water bodies. Worryingly, the spillage events have been linked to quantifiable public health risks, with over 1,850 illnesses reported in 2024 caused by polluted water.
To cap this grim picture, the Surfers Against Sewage Water Quality Report suggested that pollution events had increased by 30% in 2024 compared to previous years, despite an additional £10.2 billion being pledged by water companies to improve storm overflows.
What strategies are available to all stakeholders to reduce the problem of sewage spillage events?
Improving Urban Drainage Systems:
there is a growing public interest in sustainable urban drainage systems, including permeable pavements, managed wetlands, and better stormwater overflow networks, in order to minimise the risk of sewage spillages during peak flow periods.
Stronger Compliance Enforcement:
Local authorities should be prepared to take stronger regulatory action against commercial and industrial businesses linked to illegal discharges of harmful pollutants into water systems. This can include better environmental standards compliance monitoring, and more consistent action against violators.
Partnership With Water Companies:
Ultimately, a long-term solution rests on constructive collaboration between local authorities, water companies, businesses, advocacy groups and other stakeholders, in order to identify and address problem areas for targeted investment, including damaged or ageing infrastructure, frequent overflow sites, and priority repairs. A combined emergency response plan for spills could also enable a quicker response to pollution events before they cause environmental or public health damage.
Next steps
At Samatrix, our team have decades of combined experience working alongside Water Companies and local authorities on sewage pollution prevention initiatives. To find out more about how we can prevent sewage pollution within your area and improve water quality for your residents, please contact one of our team today by clicking here or by calling 01792 949522.
