Nearly three in four Brits who previously swam in the sea have stopped because they are scared of raw sewage dumped in the water.
A new Savanta survey commissioned by the Liberal Democrats looked into people’s views amid the ongoing sewage crisis.
Water companies have been releasing untreated sewage into British rivers and seas when it rains to help prevent flooding.
But campaigners claim some companies do this illegally, such as when there is dry weather, and that the UK’s waterways are being damaged due to the sheer volume of discharge.
The Lib Dems have called the state of Britain’s waterways a ‘national scandal’.
The survey found around 74 per cent of sea swimmers have stopped or are less likely to because of sewage in the water.
Meanwhile, 41 per cent said the crisis makes them less likely to let their pets in the water despite visiting beaches either often or sometimes in the summer months.
It comes after reports in the southwest of dogs becoming sick after swimming and also concerns for dog wellbeing in St Albans due to e.coli.
Danny Chambers, MP for Winchester and qualified vet, said: ‘The new Government must save our dogs from the sewage crisis.
Total hours water companies in England leaked sewage into rivers, lakes and the sea in 2023 shown by the areas they cover
Dirty brown water pouring out over the ground at a beach in Cornwall on Boxing Day 2023
‘Reports from across the country of dogs becoming sick after swimming in the sea are truly shocking, and frankly this is a national scandal.’
The Lib Dems are calling for an immediate ban on bonuses for water company bosses and a new industry regulator with greater powers.
Savanta surveyed 2,078 British adults aged 18 or over online in July.
The data is weighted data to be representative of Britain by age, sex, region, and social grade.
Environment Secretary Steve Reed said the government’s proposed Water Bill will put offending firms under special measures and introduce further legislation to repair Britain’s waterways.
He said: ‘The new Government will never look the other way while water companies pump record levels of sewage into our rivers, lakes and seas.
‘We are putting water companies under tough special measures.
‘As an immediate step, our Water (Special Measures) Bill will strengthen regulation to reverse the tide on the unacceptable destruction of our waterways, ensuring water companies deliver for customers and the environment and attract private-sector investment to upgrade our crumbling infrastructure.’
‘Change will take time. The Government will outline further legislation to fundamentally transform our water industry and restore our rivers, lakes and seas to good health.’
Shocking photos from August 2022 showed how Lake Windermere in the Lake District turned bright green as great swathes of it were covered in toxic blue-green algae
Ed Davey enjoys some paddle boarding on Lake Windermere during a campaign visit
According to the Environment Agency, sewage spills into England’s rivers and seas more than doubled in 2023 with 3.6 million hours of spills last year – equal to about 400 years – compared with 1.75 million hours in 2022.
In the last year alone, beauty spots in Cumbria, the Cotswolds, Cornwall and Sussex have all seen enormous sewage spills blighting the lives of residents and desecrating the natural environment.
Sir Ed Davey gained a lot of votes in the south of England during the election campaign by highlighting the poor quality of Britain’s waterways, with a paddleboard stunt on Lake Windermere.
It came after it was revealed millions of litres of raw sewage had been ‘illegally pumped’ into Lake Windermere in the Lake District after a fault.
According to the Environment Agency, sewage spills into England’s rivers and seas more than doubled in 2023 with 3.6 million hours of spills last year (Stock image of sewage being discharged into water)
Data analysis by MailOnline shows water firms decided there was ‘no cost-beneficial solution’ to prevent 280 discharge sites in England that, due to the lack of capacity, pumped untreated sewage into rivers and seas for hundreds of hours last year.
The 280 sites across the country comprise 48 per cent of 582 offending sites – which discharged for a total of nearly 375,000 hours last year – where a decision on whether to resolve the issue or not has been made.
A decision has not been made on another 1,467 storm overflows which pumped raw sewage for hundreds of thousands of hours last year due to a lack of hydraulic capacity.
Another 50 storm overflows had a ‘potential spill reduction scheme’ identified, but this does not necessarily mean that this will happen, as at least 90 which had possible solutions identified in 2022 were deemed not cost-beneficial the next year.
If the Environment Agency blames discharges on hydraulic capacity it means the sewer network cannot cope with ‘wastewater flow plus typical rainfall’.
