From 2004-14 I worked as an adviser to British Members of the European Parliament, a hugely enjoyable and rewarding role.
It wasn’t so well received….
One of the threats I had highlighted concerned water pollution.
Until the UK was obliged to abide by the EU’s Bathing Water Directive the country had possibly the worst record in the bloc, and certainly had fewer beaches than any other member state that reached even the minimum standards.
Having surfed off the coast of Cornwall in the 70-80’s I can personally attest to that.
It took EU legislation to turn all that around – and remember, I write as a eurosceptic.
In my analysis I specifically highlighted the dangers of de-regulation and asset-stripping (or privatisation/out-sourcing as it is known in the UK) to the environment (and not only to the environment), particularly if Brexit were to happen under a Conservative government – I sure got that one right!
The situation deteriorated quickly after Brexit, and has now reached the point where pollution of both off and on-shore water has become a major health issue, particularly in the South-West of England (ironically UKIP’s stronghold.)
Raw sewage pumping into the sea in a Hampshire conservation area.
Huge volumes of contaminated effluent and run-off mean the UK is once again ranked last in Europe for bathing water quality.
A report by the European Centre for Environment and Human Health (ECEHH) highlighted that sea bathers in the UK remain just as likely to become ill from seawater now as they were in the 1990s.
Campaign group Surfers Against Sewage last year reported an average of over 1,000 sewage discharges – in coastal and inland waters – each day in 2022 across England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales.
Even the French are complaining.
In the same year three leading French lawmakers wrote in a letter to EU Environment Commissioner Virginijus Sinkevicius that they feared harm to marine biodiversity and to fish and shellfish industry.
Fishing committee chief Pierre Karleskind, committee member Stephanie Yon-Courtin, who is also a member of the Normandy regional council, and former French minister Nathalie Loiseau referred to media reports about the large-scale pumping of sewage into UK waters.
Normandy, incidentally, has a strikingly similar coastline to Cornwall, the main and most obvious differences being that the French shore-line teems with shellfish and crustaceans, with seagulls catching fish from the sea instead of scavenging in rubbish bins as they now do in Cornish towns and villages.
Cornish beaches, at least those close to sewage outlets, are mostly sterile, apart from seaweed. Seagulls snatching food from diners plates, or even from their hands, is commonplace now.
South West Water recently issued a Boil Water Notice to approximately 16,000 households and businesses in the Brixham area.
Residents are currently being advised to boil and cool their tap water before using it for drinking.
South West Water provides regular updates, including details on bottled water collection points.
While South West Water believes they have identified the source of the issue, investigations are ongoing, and the Boil Water Notice remains in effect.
Residents are being advised to boil tap water and let it cool before drinking, cooking, preparing food, or brushing teeth.
Government ministers are being kept informed of the situation. Meetings with senior representatives from South West Water and the local authority are ongoing to ensure the issue is resolved and clean water is restored promptly.
A spokesperson for the Drinking Water Inspectorate confirmed that they are aware of illnesses linked to the water supply in Brixham, Devon, and South West Water is investigating these reports alongside health authorities.
The Inspectorate is examining the cause, extent, and actions taken by the company.
An Environment Agency spokesperson stated that they are collaborating locally with the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) and South West Water to address reported cases of cryptosporidium in Brixham.
This unpleasant infection suggests inadequate filtration, leading to faeces in the water supply.
Dr. Bayad Nozad, Consultant in Health Protection at UKHSA, advised people in the affected areas to follow South West Water’s guidance to boil their drinking water and allow it to cool before use.
It it not just the coastal bathing areas that are being pumped full of raw sewage in Brexit Britain.
Of the 86% of inland water bodies which fail to meet targets in England, 36% were identified as failing directly as a result of sewage and wastewater discharges.
In 2016, 97% of rivers were judged to have good chemical status, when the standards by which they were judged were set much higher than they are today.
Today, only 16% of England’s rivers meet the new, lower, standards according to the Environment Agency.
Whilst current rules do allow for a limited discharge of excess sewage during periods of excess rain, sewage spills into England’s rivers and seas by water companies more than doubled in 2023.
According to the Environment Agency, there were 3.6 million hours of spills, compared to 1.75 million hours in 2022.
In the UK, most areas use a combined sewerage system where both rainwater and wastewater from toilets, bathrooms, and kitchens are transported through the same pipes.
Typically, this wastewater is directed to a sewage treatment facility.
However, during periods of heavy rainfall, the system’s capacity can be exceeded, especially if the ground is too dry to absorb the water quickly. This overflow can potentially inundate sewage treatment plants and cause flooding in homes, roads, and open spaces.
To manage this, the system is designed to occasionally overflow, discharging excess wastewater into seas and rivers. This process, known as combined sewer overflows (CSOs), is a legally permitted measure.
However, there is clear evidence that some water companies release sewage even in the absence of rainfall. Without rainwater to dilute the waste, these discharges, termed “dry spills,” result in higher concentrations of sewage entering waterways, which is illegal.
A recent BBC investigation identified 388 potential dry spills by Thames, Wessex, and Southern Water in 2022.
Additionally, untreated sewage was found to have been illegally discharged into Lake Windermere in the Lake District in February 2024 due to a fault.
The investigation also revealed that these three major water companies illegally discharged sewage hundreds of times on dry days last year.
Main Image: Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=2740821
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