Crap Towns / Merton / Pollution incidents
How often does Merton get polluted?
18 serious pollution incidents have been recorded in Merton or within 1 km of it since 2016, the joint 38th most of the 948 English towns that have had one. 6 were major, the worst kind. The most recent came in June 2026 and put odour in the air. Smoke turned up in 3 of them.
| When | What | Where | Impact |
|---|---|---|---|
| June 2026 | Odour | In the air | Significant |
| May 2026 | Odour | In the air | Significant |
| June 2025 | An unidentified pollutant | In the water | Significant |
| February 2025 | Diesel | In the water | Major |
| September 2024 | Smoke | In the air | Major |
| July 2024 | Firefighting run-off and smoke | In the air | Major |
| April 2023 | General biodegradable material or waste | On the land | Significant |
| September 2022 | An unidentified pollutant | In the water | Significant |
| March 2022 | Waste oil | In the water | Major |
| October 2020 | An unidentified pollutant | In the water | Major |
| July 2020 | An unidentified pollutant | In the water | Significant |
| May 2020 | An unidentified pollutant | In the water | Significant |
| September 2019 | Atmospheric pollutant or effect | In the air | Significant |
| May 2019 | Unidentified oil | In the water | Significant |
| March 2019 | Firefighting run-off and smoke | In the air | Significant |
| July 2018 | General biodegradable material or waste | In the water | Major |
| June 2018 | Odour | In the air | Significant |
| March 2017 | An unidentified pollutant | In the water | Significant |
| Town | Distance | Serious incidents since 2016 |
|---|---|---|
| Ewell | 7.8 km | 27 |
| Merton | – | 18 |
| Kingston upon Thames | 6.7 km | 11 |
| Sutton | 5.5 km | 10 |
| Richmond upon Thames | 8.8 km | 8 |
| Wandsworth | 4.7 km | 8 |
| Croydon | 9.8 km | 5 |
| Lambeth | 7.3 km | 5 |
| Worcester Park and Stoneleigh | 5.8 km | 5 |