Sewage discharge alerts in Seaford up to "95% rainwater"

The water firm told SussexWorld that recent releases into the East Sussex sea were heavily diluted and not just “sewage”, meaning they did not impact on the bathing water quality.

The company’s Beachbuoy tool, which gives real-time information about releases of sewer overflows at bathing spots, notified residents of a sewage pollution alert in Seaford this week.

A Southern Water spokesperson said: “To stop homes, schools and businesses from flooding, our nation’s network of storm overflows act as release valves to temporarily relieve the pressure of significantly increased flow volumes in the combined sewage system.

"These flows, typically up to 95% rainwater, enter rivers and the sea, as permitted by the Environment Agency.

“Whilst this is how the system is designed to work, we know these are not acceptable moving forwards so we are leading the water industry in finding innovative solutions to reduce their use.

"This is going to take time and involve huge investment to increase storage capacity and find ways to divert rain back to the environment naturally.”

Maria Caulfield, Conservative MP for Seaford, added: “Most of the sewage discharge systems locally are a dual system, meaning they collect both sewage and rainfall.

"It is the rainfall element that causes the system to fill up with sewage being only a tiny percent. Sewage on its own would rarely cause the need for overflows to be used.”

The Surfers Against Sewage annual water quality report revealed that Southern Water was responsible for four times as many ‘dry spills’ as the next worst supplier, South West Water.

For the first time, the marine conservation charity included the frequency of ‘dry spills’ - discharges of sewage when there has been no rain – in its reports.

Sussex residents expressed their anger at Southern Water in the summer, after sewage was dumped into eight bathing sites along the Sussex coast.

Then in November, Sussex coastal bathing areas were once again been hit by an ‘unprecedented’ level of sewage discharges, with sewage being pumped out into the sea 493 times in eight days along the south coast.

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The report also highlighted that over a third (39%) of sickness cases reported to SAS correlated to sewage discharge alerts.

Julia Walker, a social worker based in Shoreham, West Sussex, said: “I use the sea to help manage stress from my job as a social worker. In September I went for a swim in a popular spot prior to starting a new job.

"That evening I experienced diarrhoea and stabbing pain in my kidneys. The doctor confirmed I had a bacterial and a kidney infection. They felt that it was very unusual to have both at the same time but said that this was likely caused by swimming in contaminated water.

“I was unwell for six days, which impacted on my new role. It took me a couple of months to get back in the sea, and now I only swim with my head above water for fear of becoming ill again. It makes me very angry that the water companies are affecting how I use the water.”

Liberal Democrat Parliamentary Candidate for Lewes constituency, James MacCleary, added: "Sewage discharges into Seaford Bay have become so commonplace that we aren't even shocked any more. The issue is a national scandal and all the government has done is bury its head in the sand.”