Welsh Water has been ranked the 8th UK Company with the biggest increase in average sewage spill durations.

The new study has revealed which UK water companies in England and Wales have the biggest increase in average sewage spill durations. 

The Rivers Trust data from 2022 to 2023 was analysed by experts at Utility Bidder to compare which companies had the most sewage spills and longest spill durations. 

The average sewage spill duration caused by Dwr Cymru Welsh Water has increased by 1.58 hours.

James Longley, managing director at Utility Bidder, has commented on the study: “Sewage spills continue to headline UK news as of September 2024, and they’ve been a constant nightmare for water companies and local authorities across the UK since we first conducted Utility Bidder’s Polluted Waters Report back in June 2023.  

“Of the water companies most challenged with rising bills and industry regulation, our findings suggest that Thames Water took the longest time to stop sewage spills, with an average spill duration of 11.56 hours.” 

A spokesperson for Welsh Water said: “We take our responsibility for protecting the environment seriously and we know we need to do more to drive further improvements. 

“Our business plan for 2025-2030 could see over £2.8bn spent on services to improve our wastewater performance, our biggest ever investment plan to improve the environment. 

“The higher number of spills in 2023 can be directly linked to the wet weather. Storm overflows operate when too much rainwater enters the system so that homes and communities are protected from internal wastewater flooding. 2023 was one of the wettest on record with 10 named storms and eight months seeing above average rainfall. 

“While the high rainfall levels in Wales compared to eastern parts of the UK are a positive in terms of water resources, they also put pressure on our wastewater networks. 

“Our network is designed to have a high number of storm overflows. We have 2,300, other companies have far fewer than us. 

“Much of our customer population is widely dispersed in rural areas, meaning more kilometres of pipes and more treatment works per customer. 

“Over the past 20 years our investment has helped ensure that Wales’ amazing coastline is blessed with a quarter of the UK’s Blue Flag beaches despite having just 15% of its coastline and 44% of our rivers meet good ecological status compared to 14% in England. 

“We are proud that the latest Bathing Water results for Wales also showed that 98% of the designated bathing waters meet stringent quality standards – with almost three quarters of them meeting the highest ‘Excellent’ water quality standard.”