Crap Towns / Cowes / Pollution incidents
How often does Cowes get polluted?
4 serious pollution incidents have been recorded in Cowes or within 1 km of it since 2016, the joint 281st most of the 948 English towns that have had one. The most recent came in July 2026 and put chemically contaminated run-off and suspended solids in the water. Crude sewage turned up in 3 of them.
| When | What | Where | Impact |
|---|---|---|---|
| July 2026 | Chemically contaminated run-off and suspended solids | In the water | Significant |
| May 2026 | Crude sewage | In the water | Significant |
| May 2026 | Crude sewage | In the water and on the land | Significant |
| August 2017 | Crude sewage | In the water | Significant |
| Town | Distance | Serious incidents since 2016 |
|---|---|---|
| Locks Heath | 12.4 km | 5 |
| Cowes | – | 4 |
| East Cowes | 2.2 km | 4 |
| Lee-on-the-Solent | 10.3 km | 3 |
| Ryde | 11.2 km | 3 |
| Holbury | 10.3 km | 2 |
| Blackfield and Langley | 8.2 km | 1 |
| Fareham | 13.7 km | 1 |
| Gosport | 12.6 km | 1 |