About
Have you ever wondered where your poo goes? Most of us hadn't - until it started showing up in our rivers and beaches.
One in four people in Britain have been affected by sewage in their local rivers or seas and stomach-turning reports from around the country offer a glimpse into the scale of the crisis - from 57 triathlon contestants falling ill in Sunderland to the NHS nurse who contracted hepatitis from swimming in sewage-infested seas.
Why is this happening?
Our sewage system is outdated and not fit for purpose. But over the years, water companies have neglected to invest in the critical upgrades needed in favour of handing out heft bonuses to their CEOs and dividends to their shareholders.
The result?
A pretty crappy situation.
To make matters worse, executives want to unload the cost of fixing this onto you – the customer. It may be your poo but this crisis is their mess. Join thousands of others across the country and tell water companies to clean up their sh*t.
Who we are
Where’s My Poo is a project by campaigning organisation, 38 Degrees. We're a community of a million people who - in a moment away from their busy days - take small actions on issues they care about, which all add up to something bigger, a movement for a better Britain for everyone who calls our country home.
Every time we win, we move our country a step towards the fairer, more sustainable place we’re fighting for, where we are treated - and treat each other - with respect.
Data
Discharge data sources
The source of the discharge data used on our maps can be found here.
Poo spotting data
Polling on constituency experiences of sewage was carried out by Survation for 38 Degrees.
Using a statistical technique called Multilevel regression and poststratification (MRP) Survation are able to use the large collected dataset from the polling to produce estimates of opinion and attitudes for small defined geographic areas - in this case, Westminster constituencies. By combining polling data with ONS and census data on demographic characteristics they can predict responses in individual constituencies. The technique was used by Survation to correctly call 94.3% of seat results at the 2019 General Election. More information at https://www.survation.com/what-is-mrp/
Fieldwork carried out between 26th May and 26th June 2023. Population sampled: residents aged 18+ living in Britain. Sample size: 6,086 respondents.
Billing increase data
Water bill data was reported in the Financial Times and sourced from the Consumer Council for Water (CCW).
Press & Media
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Contact: Hannah Graham
