UK River Report #18: Some News to Peruse

Welcome back dear reader to the eighteenth installment of the UK River Report. Alas, it is that time of the year again when much of my time and energy is to be put toward my university exams (and dissertation!). In fact, I currently have six essays to write and have unfortunately found myself without the time to write my usual length blog. Instead, I have compiled some of the main news stories from this month which, as outlined in this installment's title, you are free to peruse.

Update on Wild About The Erme River (WATER):

Ultramarathon raises £26,000 for WATER!

www.bbc.co.uk

Clean-river campaigner completes run from Devon to London

John Mildmay‑White, who covered 380 miles in 10 days, says completing the run "felt really special".

Water companies — business as usual:

www.bbc.co.uk

South West Water admits supplying unfit drinking water in Brixham

The utility firm was taken to court over an outbreak of cryptosporidium around Brixham in 2024.

www.bbc.co.uk

South West Water will not pass on any parasite fine to customers

South West Water says its customers will not pay higher bills as the firm faces a penalty.

www.theguardian.com

Welsh Water to pay £44.7m after ‘unacceptable’ sewage works failings

Proposed package comes after regulator finds ‘serious and unacceptable breaches’ in how company operates

www.bbc.co.uk

Yorkshire Water cuts sewage spills to 1,000 a week

The firm pumped sewage into rivers and the sea for 285,000 hours in 2025 - a cut of 33% on 2024.

www.theguardian.com

Sewage released into England’s rivers and seas nearly 300,000 times last year

Campaigners criticise frequent use of storm overflows when parts of the country were in drought for months

Update on the Environment Agency:

In the pocket of the water companies?

www.theguardian.com

Thousands of pollution incidents in England downgraded without site visit, data suggests

Exclusive: Whistleblower figures show large rise in ‘serious’ to ‘minor’ downgrades based on water company evidence

Who is to blame for the sewage crisis?

www.theguardian.com

Who are the key figures in the sewage crisis, and where are they now?

With anger stoked by Channel 4’s drama Dirty Business, we look at what has happened to some of the main players

Surfers Against Sewage — bathing site designation:

Some peace of mind for all those wild swimming enthusiasts.

protectingwildwaters.org.uk

The Toolkit - Protecting Wild Waters

The toolkit Our complete toolkit to support you every step of the way This toolkit has been created by SAS from conversations, lessons learnt and best practises shared by community groups that have applied for bathing water or are in the process of applying, along with government and non-government organisations. Nothing ever stands still, so

Thank you for taking the time to read this month's issue of the UK River Report. I hope you found it informative. If you would like to get involved and raise awareness of river pollution in your area, please head over to the UK River Report website and check under the 'Get Involved' page to complete our survey, or feel free to get in touch via the 'Contact' page, if you feel you have more to discuss than the survey can offer. 

With hope for the future,

Federico