‘I needed heart surgery after swimming in polluted water’: Health warning as sewage spills reach decade-high

A woman who was left needing heart surgery after developing blood poisoning is one of hundreds to fall ill after swimming in the UK’s polluted waters as sewage spills reached a decade high last year.

Campaign group Surfers Against Sewage (SAS) received 1,853 sickness reports through its service app in 2024, with 331 people having to see a doctor and 79 per cent reporting that medical professionals had attributed their illness to sewage pollution.

Hundreds were diagnosed with gastroenteritis, chest infections and serious bacterial infections, with some having to be hospitalised. Overall, the reported instances of sickness led to nine years’ worth of sick days, which is estimated to have cost the economy £493,200.

SAS’s annual Water Quality Report revealed that sewage was pumped into British waterways 592,478 times for 4.7 million hours last year, despite the shareholders of private water companies being paid £1.2bn.

The water industry has failed to hit its pollution reduction targets and recorded 2,489 spills in 2024 – more than double the target set by the Environment Agency.

In one instance, Suzi Finlayson, a 42-year-old mother, was left requiring open-heart surgery after becoming critically ill from swimming in the water in Bognor Regis. Ms Finlayson, an avid sea swimmer, developed a blood infection which led to life-threatening infective endocarditis.

She said: “I became critically ill and spent six weeks in hospital care. This experience has completely changed my life. I’ve faced a long recovery, ongoing health challenges. This has impacted my family, and the financial strain of closing my business and being unable to fully return to work.”

“At the time of my infection, a sewage overflow from three pipes at Aldwick Beach lasted 343 hours (14 days), as reported by Southern Water. I was regularly sea-swimming two to three times a week and was advised that my infection could have entered through a cut, my skin, or my mouth.”

“In all honesty, I don’t trust the water industry. Lives and the environment are at risk and there is a complete lack of transparency, accountability and urgency when it comes to public health and environmental impact.”

In September 2023, 28-year-old Charlie Clarke became violently unwell after swimming at a popular spot, Clevedon Marine Lake, while training for an Ironman race. The following day, he collapsed and spent the next four months undergoing tests, which proved that a virus caught in the water had lowered his blood pressure and caused a minor episode in his heart.

Sickness reports are collected only through data provided to the Safer Seas and River Service app, meaning the number of people becoming unwell from poor water quality is likely to be substantially higher.

In England, the top bathing spots affected include Wallasey in Wirral, Merseyside, with 2,201 discharges, the Dart Estuary with 1,553 discharges and Plymouth Hoe East with South West Water recording 1,511 discharges.

Through a survey of 2,000 adults, it was also revealed that 27 per cent of people in England have considered not paying their bill due to the action of their water supplier, with just one third believing their supplies will take the necessary action to end sewage pollution.

It comes as water bills across England and Wales are set to rise by up to 47 per cent this month and as customers are due to pay £160 more in 2030 than in 2024.

The government and the Independent Water Commission are conducting a review of the future of the privatised water industry, with a public call for evidence closing on Wednesday 23 April.

As part of their annual report, SAS is calling for regulators to hold stakeholders to account, to ensure water companies are transparent around their finances, and to prevent financial rewards from being awarded if laws are broken.

Giles Bristow, CEO of SAS, said: “The water industry fails, fails and fails again and yet is permitted to come up smelling of roses, while our coastlines, rivers and lakes suffer the stench of sewage pollution. The numbers are staggering: record hours of sewage discharges, huge bill increases, thousands of people becoming ill and yet still the industry has the gall to pay out billions [in] billpayer money to shareholders.

“Things could not be clearer: this broken system needs urgent and radical reform.

“We can change things if we change the way our system is run. Across the globe, the norm is to manage water at a local level, rather than the 100 per cent private ownership model in place in England that has proved catastrophic for the environment and public health.

“The era of broken pipes and broken promises must end and be replaced by a fresh vision for water that ends pollution for profit and leads to a fair and transparent system – one that prioritises public health and value for customer money and delivers healthy coastlines, rivers and lakes.”

A Water UK spokesperson said: “We have been clear that the water system is not working and support the Independent Water Commission looking at every aspect of how the industry is regulated.

“However, no sewage spill is ever acceptable and water companies are investing £12bn to almost halve spills from storm overflows by 2030.

“This is part of the largest amount of money ever spent on the natural environment to help support economic growth, build more homes, secure our water supplies and end sewage entering our rivers and seas.”