A new analysis has revealed that the current rate of toxic and chemical spills could make 2026 the worst year in more than a decade.
Despite widespread and mounting pressure on water companies to clean up their act, data released under a Freedom of Information request, reported in The i Paper, has shown that in the six months to July the industry has been responsible for 59 serious pollution incidents.
Both taxi sewage and chemical spills are included in this category, and if the rate continues through to late-December it would mean that 2026 has led to 50% more than in 2025 and more than double the number in 2023. Worryingly, the same assessment also found that the Environment Agency is facing to respond to many reported incidents impacting England’s rivers and seas, with critics arguing this shows how little deterrent there is for mismanagement of water bodies.
The news comes just two weeks after a separate assessment showed all bodies of water in England were polluted with toxic chemicals, and were not expected to reach ‘good’ quality status until 2063 — by which point persistent pollutants should have been degraded and been neutralised. However, this does not take into account ongoing and future spills.
Globally, an additional major study conducted by researchers from the Chinese Academy of Sciences showed that one-third of all lakes in the world now failed to meet ‘good’ water quality standards. The results from Asia and Africa were particularly worrying, where respectively just 27.4% and 20.3% of lakes were clean enough to meet the criteria.
Image: Neil Duan / Unsplash
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One-third of the World’s lakes are unhealthy, with billions at risk