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Story summary
- UK water companies logged over 3,400 toxic spills from January to July 2026, the highest in a decade.
- The Environment Agency now requires firms to record every spill that reaches a waterway, ending the ‘no impact’ classification.
- Southern Water was fined £2.4 million in September and £7.1 million in July for illegal sewage pollution.
- England recorded 7,280 suspected dry-day spills in the first five months of 2026.