East Sussex beaches have been closed due to the discharge of untreated sewage into the ocean by water companies.
Bexhill and Normans Bay beaches were closed after Southern Water encountered a “major” electrical problem at a pumping plant at Galley Hill, which resulted in untreated effluent flowing into the sea.
The water, which contained raw sewage, was released Wednesday after the station’s primary power and backup system failed.
East Sussex swimmers have demanded that water company executives be held accountable.
Juliette Wills, a member of the swimming team Bexhill Seagals, stated that the sewage discharge into the ocean will have a negative impact on both her emotional and physical health.
She explained to the BBC that swimming is more than just a “splash around” because it helps her cope with her disabilities.
She remarked, “It is unfathomable and disgusting that water companies continue to get away with this.”
Ms. Wills further stated that the water provider must be “held accountable.”
A video released to Twitter depicts untreated, murky grey wastewater rapidly gushing from a pipe onto the beach and into the ocean.
Hugo Tagholm, the leader of Surfers Against Sewage, has charged water providers with “environmental vandalism.”
“Water corporations have shifted from catastrophic drought to extreme sewage pollution,” he told the BBC.
Years of underinvestment are now readily apparent. It is time to redirect the enormous earnings of water companies to the correct management of water and sewage in order to protect people and the environment.
This form of industrial environmental vandalism should not be committed against our rivers and beaches.
In a letter to Southern Water and the Environmental Protection Agency, MPs from Sussex demanded that the county’s coastline and rivers be “respected and maintained.”
The letter, dated 18 August, stated, “Once again, the rivers and coastlines of Sussex are being polluted by sewage discharge.”
‘While information to many of our officers appears to be limited, Southern Water’s own mapping reveals, at the time of writing, that there have been approximately 15 discharges in the last 72 hours due to recent rainfall.
In addition to the obvious environmental and community effects, the closure of popular beaches and limitations on inland waterways result in economic losses for the various enterprises that depend on our beaches and rivers.
According to the Rother District Council, Bexhill and Normans Bay beaches will reopen today. The leader of the Brighton and Hove City Council, Phélim Mac Cafferty, described the publication as “disgusting” and expects to meet with Southern Water’s chief executive next week.
He stated, “Southern Water must immediately stop the sewage and pay for the cleanup.” But they must do far more to prevent this from happening again.’
Southern Water and Rother District Council have stated that they are examining the potential influence on the quality of the bathing water.
The water provider stated that it was unknown how many liters of sewage were discharged into the ocean, but they are “working closely” with the Environmental Protection Agency.
Additionally, the water company that serves Hampshire, the Isle of Wight, East Sussex, West Sussex, and Kent will investigate the source of the power outage.
When possible, it stated that it will share the cause with customers and stakeholders.
Since the beginning of the summer, tourists have been cautioned to avoid 50 beaches in England and Wales due to sewage pollution.
The Surfers Against Sewage-run Safer Seas and Rivers Service said that sewage had been dumped into the water at beaches in Cornwall, Devon, Sussex, Lancashire, and Cumbria, among other areas, and warned that bathers were at risk.
The most densely populated regions were along the southern shore.
Water companies are permitted to spill sewage into rivers and oceans to protect sewage treatment facilities from becoming overwhelmed after heavy rainfall.
Critics, however, assert that companies have neglected to invest in improved infrastructure, such as storage tanks, in favor of paying dividends to shareholders and bonuses to top executives.