Pagham beach received longest sewage discharge across four counties

Data compiled by water quality pressure group SOS Whitstable showed that Pagham received an 190-hour discharge of wastewater between November 3 and 10.

In a social media post SOS Whitstable said: “The headline statistics are that there were 1588 sewage releases from Southern Water in a month, lasting a combined 11964 hours. To put that in context, 11964 hours is 1.36 years. Of sewage. In a single month.”

The data comes from Southern Water’s own ‘Beachbuoy’ app which details the number of sewage discharges across Sussex, Kent, Hampshire and the Isle of Wight, with incidents being separated into ‘impacting’ or ‘non-impacting’ meaning the sewage discharge ‘did not impact the bathing water’, according to the water company.

SOS Whitstable added: “We recognise that November was a very wet month but this is an unprecedented outpouring of sewage across the entire south-east. It highlights how staggeringly the water industry, regulatory bodies and government are failing us on this issue.”

Southern Water spokesperson said: “Storm releases, which go a long way to reduce the impact of the type of flooding we have seen recently, and which are permitted by the Environmental Agency, reduced by nearly 50 per cent this year compared to last, in part due to a dry summer.

"We’re investing £2bn to improve environmental performance and further reduce their use, by increasing storage capacity and working with partners to reduce the rain run-off entering the system. Our data on storm overflows, including unconsented spills, is submitted to the Environment Agency. Our annual bathing water update details how we are working to create healthier rivers and seas. This improvement is being achieved through record additional investment to reduce pollution and prevent flooding, industry-leading monitoring and transparency on spill reporting, and the exploration of innovative, nature-based and engineering solutions.”

You can find out more about discharges by visiting: www.southernwater.co.uk/water-for-life/our-bathing-waters/beachbuoy