Surfers Against Sewage: 'Ministers unlikely to take serious action over sewage pollution'
Ministers are facing growing calls to clamp down on water firms
There is a claim the Government is not prepared to do anything to tackle sewage overflows across coastlines.
Surfers Against Sewage says those currently in and the future administration is 'unlikely' to take serious action in the foreseeable future.
The organisation says in Robin Hood's Bay last week there was a pollution warning in place.
The village was part of more than 40 beaches and swimming spots in England and Wales earlier this week after heavy rain overwhelmed sewer systems, leading water companies to release sewage into the natural environment.
Ministers are facing growing calls to clamp down on the water firms to ensure they invest money back into the UK's water infrastructure.
However, Neil Cutts, an activist from Surfers Against Sewage, said he does not have the sense that anyone in the current or the incoming government is prepared to do anything to tackle the issue.
Its Scarborough representative, Steve Crawford, said: "There was actually a vote in Parliament about actually getting water companies to take a lot more responsibility for what they do. They didn't go as far as actually making them responsible for it which was a really, really important issue we wanted. We basically need to say 'look guys, you're paying a lot of money to treat the water and you're not really fulfilling your obligations.' We know it's a difficult system; it's an old system.
"We need water management because a lot of the problem that we do have is the rate in which water goes into areas. If we look at the way catchment works and figuring out a way to firstly keep drains clear and secondly, looking at the way the system works and managing the way the flow of water which goes into the system, because obviously it's rainfall a lot of the time that causes the issue when it comes down into the whole sort of one-pipe system.
"Ideally what you need is a two-pipe system where basically the water that comes from rain etc goes through a separate system to sewage. A lot of places are doing that but it's one way to future-proof the system because you're not going to overload an area.
"We gave Yorkshire Water £110m about 10 years ago. They said 'we want to make Scarborough's bathing water the best in Europe. If you give us this money, we'll do all this work and you'll have a fantastic, clean beach.' Ever since then, South Bay has been classified as poor and we have more problems now with the water system than we had before that, so we'd like to know from them really of why it's so bad.
"Now, if you look at any river or beach there's paddleboarders, wild swimmers, surfers etc and so now this puts a lot of people in danger. In places like Scarborough, we trade on the fact of our beautiful water and sea and a lot of the time councils, Yorkshire Water and local Government don't take it seriously. They seem to think it's not a problem for them when it really, really is."
A Yorkshire Water spokesperson said: “There are a wide variety of factors that impact water quality at Yorkshire’s beaches, not all of which are in Yorkshire Water’s control. All of Yorkshire’s coastal bathing areas are classified as sufficient or better by the Environment Agency, including Scarborough South Bay, which improved in the most recent classifications.
“All stakeholders, including ourselves, and visitors to our region’s beaches have a role to play in protecting and improving bathing waters. Simple measures such as recycling plastics, putting litter in the bins and picking up after dogs will contribute to improving our beaches further and help our coastal resorts continue to thrive.”
Figures the party obtained from the Environment Agency through Freedom of Information requests showed that raw sewage has been pumped into UK waterways for a total of 9,427,355 hours since 2016.
The party also said the data shows a 2,553% increase in the number of monitored discharge hours between 2016 and 2021, arguing the situation is "drastically worsening" under the Conservatives.
Shadow environment secretary Jim McMahon said: "Whilst water companies are paying billions in dividends, the Tories have allowed them to cut corners and pump filthy raw sewage onto 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 Liberal Democrats said the problem was a "national scandal" as its analysis showed the 22 water company executives in the UK were paid £24.8 million, including £14.7 million in bonuses, benefits and incentives in 2021/2022.
Lib Dem environment spokesperson Tim Farron said: "These disgusting polluting habits have made beaches unsafe in the middle of the summer holidays and harmed precious British wildlife.
"Hosepipe bans could have been avoided this summer if these water company CEOs bothered to invest in their rusting pipes rather than stuffing profits in their pockets.
"They are putting profit over the environment. Frankly, the whole thing stinks."
He added: "This Government is guilty by association for letting water companies get away with this."
In response to the issue, the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs said it has outlined the action it is taking.
Water minister Steve Double 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 September 1 statutory deadline."
An Ofwat spokesperson said: "Nobody wants to see raw sewage being discharged into our watercourses, or closing our beaches.
"We have a live investigation into all wastewater companies in relation to wastewater treatment works, with cases currently open in relation to six companies.
"Where we find issues, we will act - in the last five years we have imposed enforcement penalties of more than £250 million on companies.
"In parallel to this investigation, we have called for companies to take urgent action to reduce use of storm overflows."