As official data for last year shows sewage crisis worsening, the government is creating additional ways for the public to report issues, which currently typically  number about 100,000 per annum

The Environment Agency is, for the first time, to launch an online service through which citizens will be able to report water pollution and other environmental issues.

To report such problems – including the presence in seas and rivers of sewage, as well as industrial discharge, and leaked substances from boats – people must currently call a hotline. This call centre will remain in operation but, from next year, a ‘Report an environmental problem’ digital service will also be available across the country.

The tool is currently undergoing limited private beta testing with a select group of citizens, who are being tasked with testing out new functionality, according to a newly blog published from the Environment Agency.

“We’ll… shortly be introducing a way to report odours, with further incident types like flooding and wildlife concerns coming next year,” the post added. “To test the water pollution reporting service, we’re contacting groups and individuals who spend time around rivers and water courses in certain locations to ask them to use the service over the coming months. Testing with the public will help us to make improvements ahead of the full launch next year.”

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The agency, which operates as a non-departmental public under the oversight of Defra, indicated that all pollution reports it receives – whether by phone or digitally – will be recorded and represents “valuable intelligence [which] helps us to plan and prioritise our work to protect the environment”.

Pete Connolly, deputy director of incident management digital services, added: “This development is part of a series of digital improvements within the Environment Agency that will advance how we respond to incidents and modernise our services for the public. We’re future proofing our capabilities to manage the growing demands on our services, particularly as the effects of climate change intensify. For example, next year we will launch a new flood warning service following extensive work to replace the existing 20-year-old system.  We’re also making increased use of artificial intelligence to enhance our wider incident management service.” 

Through the current helpline, the agency receives an annual total of about 100,000 reports of environmental incidents or other concerns.

The issue of sewage in UK waters has come into sharp focus in recent years, prompting sustained protests from charities and campaign groups. The most recent annual Environment Agency data, for the 2023 year, shows that the problem continues to grow exponentially.

There were 465,056 individual sewage spills into UK waters last year, a rise of 54%. The total cumulative hours of spillage more than doubled to over 3.6 billion. There are almost 25 areas of coastline or inland water where the public is currently instructed not to bathe.