Most sewage spills in England may be illegal, new research suggests

It is not the first time the Environment Agency’s enforcement regime has been called into question.

In 2024, the Office for Environmental Protection (OEP), an independent public body, ruled that the EA was not applying legislation properly as to when sewage could be legally discharged. It said the EA was allowing water companies to spill in “normal” weather rather than “exceptional circumstances” – as the law states.

In light of the OEP report the EA issued new guidance last year, external making it clear that spills should not take place during normal weather.

But in an email exchange with the BBC the EA refused to confirm that spills should only take place during “exceptional circumstances”, but said it would “always take action” if there had been a breach of the law.

“However, to meet the strict legal requirements needed to pursue a criminal conviction we must consider a wide range of factors including specific site and permit conditions, as well as rainfall totals,” its spokesperson said.

Asked to provide details of completed or ongoing enforcement action related to spills in “normal” weather a spokesperson for the EA said they could not, citing “ongoing legal proceedings”.

In response to Prof Hammond’s analysis, a spokesperson for Water UK, which represents the water companies, told the BBC: “As confirmed by the High Court and the Office for Environmental Protection, discharges should only occur in ‘exceptional circumstances’ or if preventing them is technically possible but would involve excessive cost.

“In any case, we want to end all discharges and are working to end them as fast as we physically can.”