Mr Carl Sargeant AM

Minister For Natural Resources

Welsh Government

5th Floor

TŷHywel

Cardiff Bay

CF99 1NA

Dear Carl Sargeant, Minister For Natural Resources,

STOP SEWAGE POLLUTING OUR BEACHES

I hope you would agree that the UK has one of the most beautiful and diverse coastlines in the world and is worthy of protecting.

Yet, during the 2015 bathing season (May 15th – Sept 30th) the Safer Seas Service warned beach users of a shocking 3, 045 pollution incidents, across the 326 of the country’s best beaches. The current water quality testing programme includes significant loopholes meaning that it both fails to pick up the current scale of sewage and diffuse pollution at our beaches. The current system doesn’t adequately safeguard the health of the rapidly growing number of people using our seas for recreation and relaxation year-round.

The Safer Seas Service is a vital public heath protection service, which warns the public, for free and in real-time when many of our fantastic beaches are polluted by untreated sewage effluent and diffuse pollution. These real-time Safer Seas Service warnings allow people to protect themselves from potentially harmful water-borne pollution, directing them towards safer and more appropriate beaches to enjoy.

Whilst the Safer Seas Service is an effective tool in allowing water users to make the most informed decision about how, when and where they use the sea, it’s not a solution to address the underlying causes of these all too frequent sewage pollution incidents.

Together with Surfers Against Sewage, I call on you to intervene on the issue of sewer overflow pollution, which is a significant concern amongst SAS members nationwide, the country’s estimated 600,000 recreational surfers, thousands of coastal businesses, and the millions of holidaymakers that should be able to enjoy our beaches and oceans without the risk of coming into contact with raw sewage. We are calling for more urgent action to address on-going sewage pollution at our beaches including:

  • A review of how the UK implements the Bathing Water Directive, ensuring bathing water quality is tested at the appropriate time and in the appropriate place, thus protecting the bathers, surfers and water users most at risk.
  • Increasing water company obligations to introduce more effective and faster investment to remove current sewer overflow assets with priority awarded to sensitive areas such as bathing waters, recreational watersports zones and Sites of Special Surfing Interest.
  • Mandatory year-round sewer overflow warnings introduced for all affected UK beaches regularly used by the public to protect public heath where the current water quality-testing regime fails to.
  • A strict, legally binding limit of 3 sewer overflow discharges per season, per sewer overflow asset. Discharges should only be acceptable in extreme weather events.
  • A ban on water companies installing all new sewer overflow assets directly impacting areas of the coastline important for public recreation or other environmentally sensitive areas.

I look forward to hearing from you.

Yours sincerely,

INSERT NAME, Surfers Against Sewage Supporter