Key Points
- Surfers Against Sewage reported that over 100,000 sewage discharges happened in Wales in 2025 – this corresponds to one discharge every five minutes.
- According to the analysis carried out by the charity, discharges into designated bathing waters in Wales continued for over 35,000 hours in 2025; according to WalesOnline, the exact number is 35,669 hours.
- Since 2019, Surfers Against Sewage have been recording 992 cases of sickness in Wales; 187 of such cases occurred between January and the end of August 2026.
- According to the charity, of all the cases of sickness associated with the usage of designated bathing waters in 2026, 90% related to “good” and “excellent” bathing areas.
- Lucy Jones, who is a Surfers Against Sewage volunteer, reported that she got sick after swimming in Porthcawl Beach due to discharges while she was in the water.
- Welsh Water confirmed that it would be investing £2.5 billion in environmental improvements from 2025 to 2030; out of that sum, £889 million would be spent on storm overflows.
- The company stated that storm overflows serve as safety valves during the period of intense rainfall and that discharges at that time are extremely diluted.
Wales (Wales Times) October 08, 2026 — A leading water-quality charity has warned that sewage pollution around Wales may pose a growing public-health risk, after reporting that swimmers have fallen ill following discharges into bathing waters. As reported by ITV News, Surfers Against Sewage said sewage was dumped more than 100,000 times across Wales in 2025, a level it described as equivalent to one spill every five minutes.
- Key Points
- How many swimmers have reported illness?
- What happened at Porthcawl beach?
- Which Welsh bathing areas were most affected?
- What does Welsh Water say?
- What is the Welsh Government’s position?
- How does 2025 compare with earlier years?
- Background of the development
- Prediction: What could this mean for swimmers and coastal communities?
The charity’s analysis found that sewage entered Wales’ designated bathing waters for more than 35,000 hours during 2025. ITV News reported that Surfers Against Sewage has labelled the pollution of Welsh waters a “growing public health crisis”.
WalesOnline, reporting on the charity’s 2026 water quality report, gave a more detailed account of the figures: more than 100,000 discharges equated to approximately 274 spills each day, or one every five minutes, while the total duration of discharges into designated bathing waters was 35,669 hours.
How many swimmers have reported illness?
The charity said it had received 992 reports of sickness linked to water use across Wales since 2019. It recorded a further 187 sickness reports between January and the end of August 2026.
Of the sickness reports connected with designated bathing waters in 2026, Surfers Against Sewage said 90% were associated with waters officially classified as “good” or “excellent”. ITV News reported the charity’s concern that current classifications may not fully reflect the immediate risk to people entering the water.
WalesOnline also reported that 215 sickness reports were submitted to the charity in 2025, and that the 992 reports since 2019 were accompanied by 2,258 days off work. The charity’s figures cover only illnesses reported directly to it, so they do not provide a complete measure of all illness experienced by water users.
What happened at Porthcawl beach?
Lucy Jones, a volunteer who tests water quality for Surfers Against Sewage, said she fell ill after swimming at Porthcawl beach. She told ITV News that she and others checked the charity’s app before entering the water and saw no recorded discharges at that time.
“We checked the Surfers Against Sewage app, before we went in and there hadn’t been any discharges, but when we got out we realised there had been two whilst we were in,” Ms Jones said, as reported by ITV News.
She said she experienced nausea for several days afterwards. Ms Jones called for spillages to be recorded throughout the year so that swimmers could make informed decisions before entering the water.
Which Welsh bathing areas were most affected?
According to WalesOnline’s coverage of Surfers Against Sewage’s report, the bathing areas with the highest number of sewage discharges in 2025 were Llyn Padarn, uk/local/swansea/">Swansea Bay, Llandudno West Shore, Llanfairfechan and Tywyn.
| Bathing area | Reported discharges in 2025 |
|---|---|
| Llyn Padarn | 247 |
| Swansea Bay | 224 |
| Llandudno West Shore | 184 |
| Llanfairfechan | 176 |
| Tywyn | 156 |
The figures relate to the number of recorded discharges rather than the volume of sewage released or the length of each event. WalesOnline did not report comparable volume figures for each location.
What does Welsh Water say?
Welsh Water, also known as Dŵr Cymru, said it recognised public concern about discharges and accepted that it needed to improve. In a statement reported by ITV News, the company said: “We know how much Wales’ rivers, beaches and bathing waters matter to people, and we understand the concern about discharges. We take our responsibility to protect these waters seriously and recognise that we need to improve.”
The company said it was investing a record £2.5 billion in environmental improvements between 2025 and 2030, including £889 million on storm overflows. It said it was prioritising the overflows causing the greatest environmental harm, in line with Welsh Government policy.
Welsh Water explained that much of its sewer network is combined, carrying wastewater alongside rainwater from roofs, roads and other hard surfaces. During heavy rainfall, it said, storm overflows operate as safety valves to help prevent sewage backing up into homes and businesses, and any discharge at those times is highly diluted.
The company also said that keeping more rainwater out of sewers would reduce pressure on the network and reliance on storm overflows. It said this would require infrastructure investment as well as action by councils, developers and others to manage rainwater closer to where it falls.
What is the Welsh Government’s position?
The Welsh Government said it would apply the polluter-pays principle, including prosecuting serious and persistent offenders. Its statement, reported by ITV News, also referred to water reform as an example of Wales and the UK working together to strengthen and simplify devolution while maintaining cross-border cooperation.
Surfers Against Sewage is urging the UK Government to devolve further powers over water quality and regulation to the Welsh Government through the upcoming Clean Water Bill. It is also urging the Senedd to use the powers it already has to address sewage pollution in Wales.
How does 2025 compare with earlier years?
The reported total of more than 100,000 discharges in 2025 follows a higher figure for 2024. Surfers Against Sewage’s 2025 water quality report said Dŵr Cymru Welsh Water discharged sewage 118,276 times in 2024, for a total of 968,340 hours.
BBC Radio Wales reported that the charity indicated sewage releases across Wales in the past year amounted to more than 800,000 hours, a decrease from 970,000 hours the year before. The broadcaster reported that the charity attributed part of that reduction to the dry summer of 2025.
The different hour totals reflect different measurement scopes: ITV News and WalesOnline focused on discharges into designated bathing waters, while the BBC figure referred more broadly to rivers, lakes and coastal areas across Wales.
Background of the development
Storm overflows are part of many older sewer systems designed to release excess rainwater mixed with wastewater during periods of heavy rainfall, helping to prevent sewage from backing up into properties. Welsh Water says its network includes a substantial number of combined sewers, which is why rainfall can affect the frequency of overflows.
The issue has been the subject of sustained campaigning by Surfers Against Sewage, which collects public reports of sickness through its Safer Seas and Rivers Service app. The charity has previously said that its sickness figures represent only a fraction of the true scale because they rely on voluntary reports from water users.
Welsh Water’s investment plans include £2.5 billion for environmental improvements between 2025 and 2030, with £889 million specifically directed towards storm overflows. The company has also described a wider £4 billion investment programme over the same period.
Prediction: What could this mean for swimmers and coastal communities?
For swimmers, surfers and other water users in Wales, the development is likely to increase attention on real-time discharge information and the reliability of bathing-water classifications. If Surfers Against Sewage’s call for year-round spill recording is adopted, people may have more information before deciding whether to swim, although the charity’s reported illness data cannot by itself establish a medical cause in individual cases.
For coastal communities that depend on tourism, repeated publicity about sewage discharges could affect confidence in beaches and bathing areas, particularly at well-known locations identified in the report. The practical effect will depend on whether Welsh Water’s investment programme reduces overflow events and whether regulators strengthen reporting, monitoring and enforcement.
