Sewage pours into rivers of English and Welsh national parks at twice rate elsewhere

Exclusive: Campaigners attack ‘outrageous’ situation, saying waters in protected areas should be cleanest Damian Carrington Environment editor Tue 16 Sep 2025 01.00 EDT

Sewage is pouring into the rivers inside national parks at twice the rate that is occurring outside the protected areas, it can be revealed.

Campaigners described the situation as “outrageous” and said rivers and lakes in national parks in England and Wales should be the cleanest and most protected in the country.

There are 464 water company overflow sites inside national parks and the average duration of sewage spills for each site in 2024 was 549 hours – the equivalent of eight hours a day for two months. In total, there were 254,808 hours of sewage outflows in national parks last year.