Southern Water named among water companies that "flooded" UK wildlife habitats with sewage last year by Greenpeace

Almost 1,200 sewage overflow pipes discharged in England and Wales’ habitats – which are supposed to be officially protected under conservation rules - for over 300,000 hours last year. This includes 33,939 hours by Southern Water, 12,981 hours by Wessex Water, and 589 hours by Thames Water.

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Greenpeace’s investigative unit Unearthed mapped water company data on sewage spills in 2022 onto maps of England and Wales’ Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSIs), Special Area of Conservation (SACs), Special Protected Area (SPAs) and Ramsar sites (wetlands of international importance) to identify every pipe that discharged within 50m of a protected nature site - Defra’s own definition of a “high priority” discharge site.