'Do not swim' at 22 beaches in England after sewage discharge, Environment Agency warns

19 August 2022, 15:48 | Updated: 22 August 2022, 15:11

The Environment Agency has issued 'do not swim' orders for 22 beaches in England amid fears sewage discharged from rainwater overflows may have polluted the waters.

Nine beaches in Kent, including Folkestone, Sandgate, Hythe, Dymchurch, Herne Bay Central, Tankerton, West Beach Whitstable, Sheerness and Leysdown, were among those listed as unsafe for bathing.

It comes after footage emerged of sewage lapping at the shores of Whitstable beach on Friday morning.

SOS Whitstable, an organisation that puts pressure on Southern Water to prevent sea pollution in Kent, Sussex and Hampshire, told KentLive the water giant was "downplaying" the scale of the issue.

A spokesperson said: "As well as the health risk posed to swimmers and the enormous damage inflicted on the marine life, this will prove catastrophic to the local economy, especially the fishing and hospitality industries, at a time when they are still recovering from the pandemic.

"Southern Water's comments that these releases are 'typically 95 per cent rainwater' deliberately plays down the seriousness of the situation and are potentially dangerous.

"Typically' does not mean 'always' and there is no way for the general public to differentiate between spills that are predominantly rainwater and those which aren't.

"Furthermore, the notion that these releases are only 5 per cent sewage and therefore not a risk, contradicts the volume of messages which we receive from people who have become ill after swimming."

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A spokesperson for Southern Water said: "This week's thunder storms brought heavy rain which fell onto parched ground and couldn’t absorb surface run-off, meaning that more rain than usual overwhelmed our network.

"This led to some overflows – which are used to protect homes, schools, businesses and hospitals from flooding – spilling excess water into the sea in parts of west Sussex, including Seaford.

"These discharges are heavily diluted and typically 95 per cent of them are rainwater.

"We are dedicated to significantly reducing storm overflows and are running innovative pilot schemes across the region to reduce the amount of rainfall entering our combined sewers by 2030."

Other beaches deemed unfit for swimming by the Environment Agency were Bexhill and Norman's Bay in East Sussex; Instow, Combe Martin and Ilfracombe Wildersmouth in Devon; Burnham Jetty North and Weston Main in Somerset; Heacham in Norfolk; Cleethorpes in Lincolnshire; Southport in Merseyside; Morecambe South in Lancashire; Tynemouth Cullercoats in Tyne and Wear; and Allonby in Cumbria.

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Labour today accused the Government of allowing water companies to "cut corners", after new figures showed 1,076 years' worth of raw sewage has been dumped into UK waterways since 2016

Figures obtained by the party from the Environment Agency through Freedom of Information requests indicate that, since 2016, raw sewage has been pumped into the natural environment for a total of 9,427,355 hours.

Labour warned that the figures, which equate to 392,806 days' worth of raw sewage discharge, probably do not cover the full scale of pollution.

Shadow environment secretary Jim McMahon attacked water companies and the Government over the findings.

"Families across Britain are trying to enjoy the summertime," he said.

"Whilst water companies are paying billions in dividends, the Tories have allowed them to cut corners and pump filthy raw sewage on to our playing fields and into our waters.

"Labour will put a stop to this disgraceful practice by ensuring there can be enforcement of unlimited fines, holding water company bosses legally and financially accountable for their negligence, and by toughening up regulations that currently allow the system to be abused."

The party said that areas affected by raw sewage discharge include popular tourist and bathing spots, such as rivers and beaches.

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Labour also said the data shows there has been a 2,553% increase in the number of monitored discharge hours between 2016 and 2021, with the party arguing that the situation is "drastically worsening" under the Conservatives.

In 2016, the Environment Agency recorded 100,533 hours' worth of spills. By 2021, that figure had rocketed to 2,667,452.

Earlier this month, a story in the Telegraph suggested that official plans to reduce the level of raw sewage discharged into waterways had been temporarily shelved.

However, the Government now appears to be sticking to the September deadline.

A spokesman for the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs pointed to a statement released on its website on Thursday, which said the Government is "taking action" on sewage discharges, with the current administration being the first to set an expectation on water companies to significantly reduce discharges from storm overflows.

The statement quoted Water Minister Steve Double, who said: "We are the first Government to take action to tackle sewage overflows. We have been clear that water companies' reliance on overflows is unacceptable and they must significantly reduce how much sewage they discharge as a priority.

"This is on top of ambitious action we have already taken, including consulting on targets to improve water quality which will act as a powerful tool to deliver cleaner water, pushing all water companies to go further and faster to fix overflows.

"Work on tackling sewage overflows continues at pace and we will publish our plan in line with the 1 September statutory deadline."