Sewage: Calls for Government to 'deliver' on their promises
Surfers Against Sewage have been speaking out as the new Government take over
There are calls for the new Labour Government to 'deliver' on their promises to stop sewage polluting our rivers and seas up and down the South West
That's coming from Surfers Against Sewage - who say hospital admissions from waterborne diseases are on the way up.
The issue of sewage and dirty water certainly isn't a new one, but it has made headlines a number of times already in 2024.
Just last month, campaigners were calling for action against polluted sewage discharges in St Agnes, Portreath and Porthtowan through their 'message in a bottle'.
What they did was collect sea water in a bottle to be tested for pollution, to share a visual message with lawmakers - and the privately-owned company who own South West Water.
Read more: Protestors call for end of sewage discharges in Cornwall
And whilst protestors have been trying to make their voices heard - research from a travel website has also reflected the current state of our coastlines.
They published something called a 'Brown Flag' earlier this year - something those wanting to step into the sea certainly don't want to see.
You may have heard of the blue flag, which rates the cleanest and safest beaches in the country - but this less welcome one, issued by Holiday Park Guru, highlights the beaches with the highest pollution levels... and a number of them here in the South West feature.
You can find out more about the Brown Flag accolades here: 'Brown flags' awarded for West Country beaches
This new messaging comes following the result of the General Election - and it's as the Safer Seas and Rivers Service issue a number of pollution alerts in our part of the world.
These currently include Longrock, Fistral North and South, and Readymoney Cove in Cornwall; Budleigh Sanderton, Ilfracombe and Lynmouth in Devon; and Burnham-on-Sea in Somerset.
You can check the water quality in your area on the Surfers Against Sewage website.
The letter to the PM
Following the General Election, Surfers Against Sewage issued a letter to the new Prime Minister.
In the letter, they said: "Dear Prime Minister, you have the backing of the public to End Sewage Pollution. Now it’s time to deliver.
"In 2023, there were 604,833 sewage discharges in the UK, with 3.6 million hours of untreated sewage running into our rivers, lakes and seas, with hospital admissions due to waterborne diseases up by 60% since 2010.
"These are the simple facts about the state of our broken water system that your new government is going to have to deal with.
"Fixing this problem may seem like a daunting task. But, your party campaigned on a platform to ‘Save Britain’s waterways from an avalanche of sewage’, so we have no doubt that you will be well up for the challenge. In fact, in your speech immediately after the election was called you cited the ‘sewage in our rivers’ as a key issue the that your party would tackle once in power. And consistently, you and the Shadow Secretary of State have attacked the previous government’s record on sewage. Telling voters, a vote for Labour was a vote to ‘end the sewage scandal.’
"It’s crystal-clear then, from the resounding victory at the ballot box, that your government has not only a mandate to take bold, positive action to End Sewage Pollution but there is also an expectation amongst the public that you will do just that."
You can read their full letter to the Prime Minister here.
This letter follows the publication of the Labour manifesto into the state of our rivers and seas.
- Labour will put the water companies under special measures to clean up our waters
- Giving the water regulator powers to block the payment of any bonuses until water bosses have cleaned up their filth
- Water bosses who oversee repeated law-breaking will face criminal charges
- Ending self-monitoring and forcing all companies to monitor every single water outlet under independent supervision so companies can no longer cover up illegal sewage dumping
- Introducing severe and automatic fines that water companies can’t afford to ignore for illegal sewage discharges