People across the south west paddle out in protest against sewage
Protests are taking place including in Falmouth, St Ives and Exmouth
Water users in the south west of England among thousands of campaigners paddling out in nationwide protest against sewage pollution on Saturday 17 May as the official bathing season starts.
The Paddle-Out Protests are taking place as the public flocking to the UK's blue spaces to enjoy the water in the summer months. Last year, there were 8,704 sewage discharges in England during the bathing season, an average of more than 60 a day.
Co-ordinated by environmental charity Surfers Against Sewage (SAS), a record number of protests at over 40 UK-wide locations are set to take place, with surfers, swimmers, kayakers and bathers taking to the water to take a stand against sewage pollution. Protests in the south west are:
o Gylly Beach, Falmouth, Cornwall 12pm
o Sideshore, Exmouth 2pm
o Seaton, Cornwall 1pm
o East Beach, Plymouth Hoe, Devon 11am
o Bristol Harbour 10:30am
o Croyde, North Devon 10:15am
o Porthmeor, St Ives, Cornwall 1pm
o Marine Lake, Weston Super Mare 11:30am
SAS has developed a free mobile app, the Safer Seas & Rivers Service, which provides real-time pollution alerts for over 450 locations across the UK, helping to protect water users from sewage pollution. The charity is encouraging everyone who is attending the Paddle Out Protests to use the app to check the water is safe.
Giles Bristow, CEO at Surfers Against Sewage said: “Another year, another summer of swimming and surfing in sewage while our shameless water companies laugh all the way to the bank. The public has simply had enough and will be paddling out in their thousands to send a clear message to government and the polluters: end this sewage scandal now!
“Our failing water industry has been trumpeting billions in investment to clean up their act, but we know that these fat cat bosses can’t be trusted to keep their promises. The proof is in the missed targets, shocking statistics and devastating stories of sickness we continue to see year after year. We’ve had enough of their lies, greed and incompetence and know that this nightmare will not end until the whole water system is radically reformed.
“The people paddling out in the south west are part of a groundswell of Ocean Activists across the UK, letting the water companies, government and Independent Water Commission know, loud and clear, that we will not settle for yet another year of risking our health to swim in the sea.”
“People should be free to use the water without fear of getting sick, and that’s why we developed the Safer Seas & Rivers Service, a free app that provides real-time pollution alerts, giving peace of mind for those worried about sewage pollution.”
The protests are taking place as the Independent Water Commission reviews its evidence before making recommendations to Government on reforming the water industry in England and Wales. Surfers Against Sewage is calling for a total reform of the privatised water sector, demanding that protecting public health and the environment should be prioritised ahead of profit.
Giles Bristow continued: “We have shown that people power brings about change: we campaigned hard for an Independent Water Commission, and now it must deliver what the public demands. If the government settles for the status quo, history will keep repeating itself and we will never end sewage pollution.
“We cannot keep chucking good money down the drain to service debt, dividends and dodgy bosses, whilst the deluge of sewage discharges contaminates our wild waters and the ocean. The time for tinkering around the edges of a broken system is long gone. This year’s Paddle-Out Protests will show those in power that the public are watching and will not let up until public health and the environment is prioritised over profit.”
Mary Culhane is organising a protest in Exmouth. She said: “Exmouth is joining SAS for Paddle-out again this year as we’re horrified by the amount of sewage being dumped into the sea. In 2024 South West Water discharged 9,633 times into designated bathing waters - we pay them to treat our sewage, not ruin our beaches, damage our tourist industry, harm the ecosystem, and make us sick. We’re asking for meaningful legislation from the government, proper funding of the regulators, and want to see CEOs of water companies made accountable for the huge harm they’re inflicting on our coastal community and wildlife. We want our beautiful beach back!”
Karlie Evans, SAS Regional Rep in Bristol is organising the local protest. She said: “In Bristol we will be taking to the iconic Bristol Harbour to make some positive waves! We'll all come together for a celebration of our love of clean waters and collectively say that enough is enough. No more sewage, no more pollution, no more lack of accountability! We'll be throwing a land-based protest with speakers and chants, before a congregation of us will paddle across the Harbour to make some noise.”
Last month SAS revealed that sewage was discharged over half a million times into UK waters, with English water companies failing on their Environmental Agency targets to reduce sewage pollution incidents. Instead of achieving a 40% reduction, incidents increased by 30%- the highest in a decade. Sewage spilled into the sea, rivers and lakes for 4.7 million hours at the same time as shareholders of private water companies cashed in on £1.2 billion in dividends. The charity also received 1,853 sickness reports last year.
Matt Walters, 53, from Cornwall, was impacted by sewage pollution. He took a winter morning dip at Swanpool beach, which he regularly does most days before work, and that same day, he began to feel unwell:
“While doing my rounds, halfway into my duty, I became physically exhausted and felt sick, with a high temperature. I had to go home early from work. I phoned the doctors who told me l had to get to a hospital. My wife had to drive me to Penzance to be seen by a doctor at 11pm who gave me antibiotics. I had cellulitis from the sewage. I think l had at least one week off work as my foot was swollen. It came at a loss of two days of pay £150 plus all the hassle of hospital, grandparents helping out and so on.
“It was an awful experience probably one of the worst I've ever felt. It physically took me 2 weeks to be able to swim again and for my foot to recover after the infection. It also knocked my confidence as l was worried it would happen again and id be in trouble with work.
“I try to swim every day as its fantastic for my mental health.”
Among England’s water companies, United Utilities was the worst offender, spilling sewage over 77,000 times, with Severn Trent, Wessex and Thames Water discharging more sewage than the previous year.
Surfers Against Sewage is calling for ambitious and radical reform of the water industry in England and Wales, which operates to put the environment and public health ahead of profit, ending sewage pollution for good. In Scotland and Northern Ireland, the charity is calling for real-time sewage alerts and increased monitoring and transparency of sewage discharges into blue spaces.