Eastbourne MP worries people are being ‘wrongly scared off’ our beaches due to sewage dumping concerns
Caroline Ansell spoke at Westminster Hall last week and told MPs there was a clear need for action around the problem but clarified that the situation isn’t as bad as many people think.
She said this summer residents have told her they wouldn’t go sea swimming because of worries around the water quality. She said: “They are stunned when I tell them of the reality around our situation – that our bathing water quality is actually good, touching on excellent, and that a live government-funded and county council-delivered project called Blue Heart is going to get us to that excellent rating.”
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Hide AdMrs Ansell said people are surprised to hear 95 per cent of the discharge being ‘dumped’ is rainwater. She said the international water standard for ‘good’ is set at 70 and the UK sits at 74. To reflect the increased popularity of sea swimming, she’s asked the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs whether the bathing season could be extended to all year round so that monitoring will also be all year round.
She said in Westminster: “It is really important for communities such as mine that this debate is grounded in responsible, informed discussion. Local sea swimming is growing in popularity and has been found to have many hugely positive health benefits. What a shame if people are wrongly scared off.”
Speaking afterwards she said an immediate ban on the use of storm overflows could end up with waste coming back through the pipes, flood homes and run down streets during heavy rainfall. She said: “I share everyone’s concerns about our seas but we need to make sure we are aware of all the facts and we do not scare people away from coming to Eastbourne and going into the water. Our tourism industry is vital to our town. If we continue to inaccurately portray Eastbourne as dirty, we risk our tourism industry - it's as simple as that.”