Sewage

Channels reported that the campaign group Surfers Against Sewage released new data on sewage discharges into England's waterways. The data indicated that water companies dumped sewage for over 43,000 hours during July and August, and for almost 14,000 hours across three heat waves between May and August. The group noted that storm overflows are only permitted during heavy rainfall, but spills occurred during dry periods. Sky News reported that the group received over 600 reports of illness and identified Southern Water as a major contributor, with six beaches affected. Southern Water responded that most discharges occurred during heavy rainfall in mid to late August, and that its bathing waters were rated good or excellent. The government (Defra) said it was taking action and overhauling the water sector. ITV News reported a specific case of a child falling ill after swimming at Avon Beach, and included a response from Wessex Water stating no discharges upstream of that beach since June. ITV also noted that the group planned to deliver a petition to Downing Street.

Key Claims by Channel

Claim
Reported by all 2 channels
Sewage spilled into bathing waters for nearly 14,000 hours across three heatwaves between May and August.	Reported by ITV
A charity received more than 600 reports of people getting ill after swimming.	Reported by ITV
Water companies dumped sewage into England's waterways for over 43,000 hours during July and August.		Reported by Sky News
Storm overflows are only permitted during heavy rainfall.	Reported by ITV	Reported by Sky News
Only on one channel
River Action stated that all rivers in the UK are polluted.	Not reported by ITV	Reported by Sky News
The Environment Agency launched nearly 100 criminal investigations into water companies between April 2025 and April 2026.	Not reported by ITV	Reported by Sky News
Southern Water said most sewage activity happened during heavy rainfall in mid to late August, the first rainfall since June.	Not reported by ITV
Sewage spilled into UK waters for 14,000 to 43,000 hours during summer 2025.	Not reported by ITV
Surfers Against Sewage named Southern Water as one of the worst culprits for sewage spills.	Not reported by ITV	Reported by Sky News
Southern Water said all but one of its bathing waters were rated good or excellent by the Environment Agency in October 2025.	Not reported by ITV
Surfers Against Sewage said over 2,000 hours of sewage spills went into designated bathing waters.	Not reported by ITV	Reported by Sky News
Defra said storm overflows should only be used in specific circumstances, and the government has made it a criminal offence to cover up illegal sewage spills and is overhauling the water sector.	Not reported by ITV	Reported by Sky News
A child named Kiva contracted Campylobacter after swimming at Avon Beach and spent two nights in hospital.		Not reported by Sky News
Wessex Water said none of its sewage assets upstream of Avon Beach have discharged since June.	Reported by ITV	Not reported by Sky News
Environment Agency data rates 87% of England's bathing waters as good or excellent.		Not reported by Sky News
A group will deliver a petition to Downing Street urging Andy Burnham to do more.		Not reported by Sky News
Southern Water discharged sewage for more than 400 hours into bathing water across a catchment.	Reported by ITV	Not reported by Sky News
A petition was delivered to the prime minister in Downing Street.	Reported by ITV	Not reported by Sky News
The Prime Minister is keen to bring Thames Water into public ownership.	Not reported by ITV	Reported by Sky News
No reservoir has been built in England for 35 years.	Not reported by ITV	Reported by Sky News

This is a cross-channel consensus summary, not an objective account. Consensus can be uniformly wrong, or omit what only one channel covered.