Autumn weather of late has been a blowy and damp affair. Typical conditions then for the time of year. But with rain comes the increased risk of pollution in our seas and rivers. Why so, you may ask? According to water companies deluges of rain cause sewerage holding tanks to become inundated. When this happens there’s a need to dump the excess. So we’re told…
You may have seen the recent footage of suspected sewerage spewing out of one of the St. Agnes outfall pipes. If not, hit this link. The footage also made the national news. Quick to defend the water company in question claimed this was natural land runoff in light of rain fall.
Elsewhere in the country alerts have been in place – the Beachbuoy app being one example) -regarding similar instances. It would seem that in a good many locations there’s been a huge amount of effluent pumped into UK waters – especially seas – in recent weeks.
Whether you’re a water user or not we’re sure you’ll agree this has to stop. Not only is it a health hazard it’s also causing further issues to marine ecosystems and the like.
Listening to long time surfers the 80s was a pretty disgusting decade for water pollution. But with much good done by the likes of Surfers Against Sewage, the authorities started to clean up their act. In recent times there seems to have been a big regression.
With huge profits recorded water companies will continue to get fined and be in a position to pay these off. Simply doing this isn’t enough. So what can we do?
Emailing your local MP is a start. The more we protest against sewage being dumped in seas and rivers the better. We need to be a collective voice so numbers of contacts are critical. Also, join up with the likes of Surfers Against Sewage. This will help them continue to pressure the government and water boards into halting this activity. Raise awareness in your local area – even if only via the power of social media. We’re not talking about spamming everyone with posts but sharing what’s put out by those in the know can help a little. Avid misinformation! Don’t get sucked into believing everything that’s online. As we said just now anything you share should be from a trusted source like Greenpeace or SAS.
Hopefully, the more we oppose the dumping of sewage in our seas and rivers the more likely it is to stop. Fingers crossed…