According to a study revealing the top 20 countries with the cleanest water, the UK doesn’t even reach the top 50.
The team at RS Bonds collected environmental performance data from 180 countries, focusing on various water treatment and wastewater categories.
Once the results had been gathered, the team then worked out the overall rankings, scoring the countries out of 50 for how clean their water is.
Key results:
- Seychelles in East Africa ranked as the best country for clean water. This can be attributed to the Public Utilities Corporation which covers 95% of the population’s water needs.
- Iceland is the only European country to break into the top 10, ranking 9, with 95% of their water coming from springs and free of chlorine, calcium, and nitrate.
- The United Kingdom fails to break into the top 50, ranking 55. There were 584,001 discharges of raw sewage into UK waterways in 2023, according to https://www.sas.org.uk/
Top 20 countries for clean water (plus their score):
Seychelles – 47.3
Antigua and Barbuda – 46.4
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines – 45.7
Grenada – 44.6
Saint Lucia – 43.7
Dominica – 43.4
Kiribati – 42
Sao Tome and Principe – 41.7
Iceland – 41.1
Bahamas – 39.3
Estonia – 38.3
Latvia 36.6
Cyprus – 35.9
Lithuania – 33
Barbados – 31.2
Luxembourg – 31
Malta – 30.9
Belize – 30.9
Finland – 30.8
Trinidad and Tobago – 30.8
You can find the ranking for the top 60 countries here.
Dane Westwood, roads and sewer specialist for RS Bonds explains why the UK has failed to crack the top 50 countries for clean water:
“The UK is facing a crisis in terms of its water quality and the country’s failure to reach the top 50 in our results is alarming, though not surprising.
“Last year, there were reportedly 584,001 discharges of raw sewage into waterways – and 6,000 potentially illegal sewage spills in 2022. Most recently, we have seen that the Devon water supply has become contaminated with cryptosporidium, a parasite that can cause vomiting and diarrhoea.
“In 2023 alone, there were 1,924 cases of sickness after entering contaminated water, according to a report from Surfers Against Sewage.
“Only a small percentage of the UK’s rivers are in good ecological health, and none meet the required chemical standards. This indicates there is widespread pollution from sewage, agricultural runoff, and urban contaminants.
“A significant portion of this pollution comes from sewer overflows, including Combined Sewage Overflows and pumping stations, which are being used far more frequently than intended.
“Moreover, the UK’s outdated sewerage system is unable to cope with the pressures of increasing population, urbanisation, and climate change. In 2022, there were 400,000 discharges of untreated sewage into UK rivers.
“These issues underscore the urgent need for improvements in wastewater management, infrastructure, and environmental regulations to ensure safe and clean water for all.”
