Surfers Against Sewage Annual Report a National Embarrassment for Wales

Responding to the Release of Surfers Against Sewage's annual report, Welsh Liberal Democrat Westminster Spokesperson David Chadwick MP said: 

“These figures are absolutely shocking. The fact that sewage was discharged into Welsh rivers and seas more than 100,000 times last year, including thousands of unpermitted discharges, should be a source of national embarrassment.

“People should be able to enjoy our rivers, lakes and beaches without worrying about sewage pollution or putting their health at risk.

“The Welsh Liberal Democrats have been leading the charge against sewage pollution for years, campaigning for cleaner waterways and greater accountability from water companies and regulators.

“We urgently need to see proper investment in our ageing infrastructure, stronger independent regulation and real consequences for those responsible for pollution.

“The people of Wales deserve clean rivers and seas, and we will keep fighting until we have the regulation and accountability needed to deliver that.”

ENDS

NOTES FOR EDITORS: 

• Report can be found here: https://www.sas.org.uk/resource/water-quality-report-2026/
• Key Wales stats:

1. 101,176 sewage discharges were recorded across Wales in 2025; equivalent to approximately 274 every day, or one every five minutes.
2. These discharges lasted a combined 822,265 hours, equivalent to almost 94 years of continuous sewage discharge.
3. Wales accounted for approximately 20% of all recorded UK sewage discharges in 2025, despite having only 5% of the UK's population.
4. Wales accounted for approximately 27% of the total recorded UK discharge duration.
5. 27,683 discharges were recorded by Welsh Water in the first six months of 2026, according to the report's preliminary analysis.
6. More than 7,000 unpermitted sewage discharges occurred in Wales in 2025. The report describes these as discharges without the appropriate environmental permits.
7. 827 Welsh Water overflows discharged sewage more frequently in 2025 than in 2024, despite 2025 being a substantially drier year across the UK.