UK River Report #23: Summer Drought Statistics, Boycott of Bills, and Issues of Sewage Illness

Welcome back dear reader to the twenty-third installment of the UK River Report. You will have to forgive me for a repeated typo in my last post, in which 'South Water' should have of course read as 'Southern Water'. We do love predictive text...

In this month's post, I shall detail some of the most glaring figures to come from the summer's drought and how the government are clearly not doing enough, the wanton actions of water companies including Southern Water and how we as customers can take back control, and some of the recent campaigns that readers can get involved with.

Damning drought data:

Approximately 75% of England has now been declared to be in drought, with around 27 million people experiencing restrictions across regions supplied by ten water companies, including Wessex Water and Bristol Water, having issued their first hosepipe bans since 1976 and 1975, respectively [1-3]. Despite this, countless numbers of residents remain left with leaky pipes, some of which have gone unresolved for months, totalling millions of litres of water lost daily [4, 5].

Furthermore, as much of Europe has experienced a series of climate change-driven heatwaves, it is ludicrous how woefully unprepared the government is to address the issue going forwards, with only 20 out of the 6613 staff working for Defra involved in climate adaptation and the notable delay in Andy Burnham even mentioning the climate crisis since taking office [6, 7].

Corporate corruption = bill boycott:

It is no secret that water companies such as Southern Water have repeatedly and illegally discharged raw sewage during periods of dry weather [8]. In fact, even with a £90 million fine recently issued for such offences, Southern Water have continued to act with a blatant indifference to the laws and regulations they are to supposedly adhere to [9]. Despite the unprecedented drought conditions this past month, there have been several reports of Southern Water discharging raw sewage along the Sussex coastline, having sought to conceal their crimes with excuses of heavy rainfall overwhelming the system, as a brief period of wet weather offered slight respite from this summer's drought [10, 11].

One likely reason for the continued criminal activities of Southern Water and other water companies is due to the costs of any fines simply being passed onto customers [12]. To challenge this unjust precedent, we must take collective action. Therefore, I urge readers to get involved with the Justice For Water initiative, a component of Extinction Rebellion's Dirty Water Campaign, which offers guidance towards boycotting the sewerage service aspect of your water bill via legal justification [13, 14]. By disrupting the cash flow of water companies, we can send a clear message to those in power that the buck stops with them and drastic improvements are required.

Campaigning against sewage sickness:

Surfers Against Sewage have appealed for people who have fallen ill after entering our UK waters to come forwards and complete their sickness report, to help build a better picture of the otherwise unknown scale of illness caused by the sewage crisis [15].

If you, or someone you know, have an experience to share, please follow the link below [15]:

https://www.sas.org.uk/water-quality/submit-a-sickness-report/

Similarly, Save Windermere have called on Andy Burnham to address the challenges facing England's largest lake; to ensure the public are adequately protected from the risk of illness presented by sewage pollution and that meaningful action is taken to help clean up Windermere [16]:

www.change.org

We warned this could happen again. Now another child is ill.

Earlier this year, we told the horrific story of Rex, a young boy who almost died after contracting E. coli O157 following a family trip to Windermere. We warned the Government that without intervention, somebody else could become seriously ill. This summer, another young child has. Three-year-old Iris became seriously unwell with a Campylobacter infection two days after paddling in Windermere.…

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

References:

1. Neill P. Three-quarters of England in Drought as Summer’s Fifth Heatwave Looms. The Guardian; 2026. Available from: https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2026/aug/10/uk-temperatures-heatwave-summer-met-office-warning

2. Skirkowski J. First Hosepipe Ban Since 1976 in Wessex Water Area. BBC; 2026. Available from: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/crmr9zk393yo

3. Diamond J. Water Company Issues First Hosepipe Ban in Decades. BBC; 2026. Available from: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c3rel8jw71yo

4. England K. Anger Over Water Leaks as Hosepipe Ban Continues. BBC; 2026. Available from: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/ce8lpkx8595o

5. Ware M. Water Pipe 'leaking thousands of litres a day'. BBC; 2026. Available from: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c3r0e34rvddo

6. Laville S. Just 20 of 6,600 Defra Staff Working on Climate Adaptation Amid Drought and Wildfires. The Guardian; 2026. Available from: https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2026/aug/12/just-20-of-6600-defra-staff-working-on-climate-adaptation-amid-drought-and-wildfires

7. Adu A. Burnham Announces £65m for Drought-hit Farmers After Labour Pressure. The Guardian; 2026. Available from: https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2026/aug/14/andy-burnham-climate-response-drought-hit-farmers-labour-pressure

8. Stallard E, Fisher J, Woodcock S, Dale B, Rogers L. BBC Uncovers 6,000 Possible Illegal Sewage Spills in One Year. BBC; 2024. Available from: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c4nn46rjej6o

9. Environment Agency. Record £90m Fine for Southern Water Following EA Prosecution. GOV.UK; 2021. Available from: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/record-90m-fine-for-southern-water-following-ea-prosecution

10. Sayer A. The Sussex Beaches Where Sewage Releases Were Recorded by Southern Water in Last 72 Hours. Sussex World; 2026. Available from: https://www.sussexexpress.co.uk/news/environment/the-sussex-beaches-where-sewage-releases-were-recorded-by-southern-water-in-last-72-hours-8932356

11. Neill P. ‘Tiny bit of rain and the sewage comes’: Brighton Swimmers Vent Fury at Sea Pollution. The Guardian; 2026. Available from: https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2026/aug/30/sewage-brighton-swimmers-condemn-sea-pollution

12. Extinction Rebellion Dirty Water Campaign. Justice For Water. Medium; 2026. Available from: https://medium.com/@xr.dirtywatercampaign/justice-for-water-3fd8ead0e1fe

13. Extinction Rebellion. Don’t Pay for Dirty Water. Extinction Rebellion; 2026. Available from: https://extinctionrebellion.uk/act-now/campaigns/dont-pay-for-dirty-water/

14. Extinction Rebellion. Dirty Water. Extinction Rebellion; 2026. Available from: https://extinctionrebellion.uk/act-now/campaigns/dirty-water/

15. Surfers Against Sewage. Submit a Sickness Report. Surfers Against Sewage; 2026. Available from: https://www.sas.org.uk/water-quality/submit-a-sickness-report/

16. Save Windermere. We Warned This Could Happen Again. Now Another Child is Ill. Change.org; 2026. Available from: https://www.change.org/p/introduce-legislation-to-end-sewage-discharges-in-windermere/u/35189219