Report River Pollution
Spot something unusual at the river? We’re here to help.
Healthy rivers and streams matter to everyone. We’re working hard every day to protect your local environment - and most of the time, everything is running just as it should. But if you do spot something that doesn’t seem right, we want to hear from you. This page will help you understand what pollution looks like - and what’s normal.
Most of the time, you won’t need to contact us - but if you do, we’ll act fast.
How to report water pollution
If you notice pollution, please call us immediately at 0800 783 4444. You can also report pollution using video if you have a mobile phone with video recording capabilities.
It helps if you have the following details to hand:
- What you observed and when
- Whether sewage is entering a river or any other watercourse
- The exact location - please use a postcode, road name, What Three Words location, or a local landmark to pinpoint the pollution's location accurately
If you’re unsure, you can also report to us by recording a video on your phone for us to check, using the Vyn (Video your notes) app.
We will investigate the pollution and report all incidents to the Environment Agency. If the pollution has been caused by a problem on our network, we’ll sort it as soon as possible.
If there’s another cause for the pollution, we'll work with whoever is responsible, alongside the Environment Agency, to stop it from happening again.
There are lots of reasons why river pollution could happen. We at Severn Trent have our part to play, in areas like sewage treatment and overflows. But other factors, like fertilizers from farms and run-off from roads and towns, have an impact, too.
Even if you don’t see and report pollution, you can still help. Blocked drains can cause waste water to back up, and even overflow, coming back to the surface from underground sewers and drains.
Calling the Pollution Hotline is one of the best ways to protect rivers and streams. We would rather get half-a-dozen calls about the same thing, than none at all. It means we can get an expert Incident Response Team on site to check whether there is pollution and deal with it quickly
We monitor our network 24/7 and invest in new technology to stop pollution before it starts. Since summer 2024 we’ve carried out work at well over 1,000 sites close to rivers and streams to cut the risk of pollution. And between now and 2030 we’re putting a further £400 million into supporting rivers and streams across our patch.
Our Commitment
If the pollution has been caused by a problem on our network, we’ll get it fixed as soon as possible.
We report all known pollution incidents to the Environment Agency.