What happened
Human faeces in rivers is endangering public health and requires immediate action, the UK's leading scientists and engineers have warned in a report.
Who said what
Upgrading the sewerage system and increasing testing of waterways is a "public health priority as well as an environmental one", said Professor Chris Whitty, the UK's chief medical officer.
The UK has made improvements to water quality, but "raw sewage overflowing into rivers and seas" remains a "persistent problem", said the BBC. Last year there were 1,271 spills a day in England, the broadcaster said, which amounts to a "doubling of the previous year".
In 2022 more than 44.5 million Brits were supplied with water by a company that experienced "at least one bacteria breach", The Sun said. Experts told the paper contamination events like this "should simply never happen". Today's report comes amid "growing outrage" over the state of the nation's rivers and coasts, said the Daily Express.
What next?
The report outlined 15 short-term and longer-term recommendations, including improving the maintenance of existing water infrastructure and banning solid materials that clog up water systems, like wet wipes.
"It is imperative that our elected politicians treat this report as a major wake-up call given the past failures to protect the public from the rising tide of sewage pollution," said Charles Watson, chair and founder of River Action. | 
