Beach holidays this year have been marred by water companies pumping raw sewage into the ocean, with popular beaches in areas such as Sussex and Devon having to close. But some holidaymakers could be swimming in it without warning, as new analysis by the Liberal Democrats found that some monitors that are supposed to measure the amount of sewage being pumped into the water at popular seaside spots are broken or not even installed. Water utilities monitor wastewater discharge from storm surges using event duration monitors (EDMs), which record the frequency and duration of spills. Environment Agency data for England and Wales shows that 1,802 monitors installed by water companies provided information less than 90% of the time, with potentially high numbers of leaks during these periods, and that 1,717 storm overflows had no monitor installed . Last year, for waterways, not just swimming areas, a quarter of sewage discharges went undetected overall because screens were not working or were left uninstalled. Across Devon and Cornwall, one in eight sewage screens at designated bathing locations were either faulty or not installed. Many popular seaside destinations were screen-free, including Long Rock, Cornwall. Littlehampton, Sussex; and Lee-on-Solent, Hampshire. Littlehampton Pier is adjacent to a sewage spillway but no screen has yet been installed at the site. Sussex has been hit particularly hard by sewage pollution, with new figures showing that every beach between Brighton and Hastings has been marred by the waste. Bexhill and Normans Bay beaches remain closed after raw sewage was pumped into the sea. A spokesman for Southern Water said the company was deeply sorry and understood “the distress this is causing”. However, the situation could be worse than the figures suggest: in Seaford, Sussex, the sewage monitor only worked a third of the time. While available figures show sewage was dumped in designated swimming areas for 160,000 hours last year, a lack of monitoring means the figure could be much higher. The Lib Dems’ spokesman for environment, food and rural affairs, Tim Farron, said: “This is a national scandal. Britain’s seaside resorts are inundated with sewage, yet the government is nowhere to be found. “Why on earth are Tory ministers letting them get away with this? The public needs to know how safe, if at all, popular swimming beaches are.’ There has been recent outcry over the lack of action on pollution by water companies, most of which have failed to meet their wastewater targets, especially as those who manage them receive ever-larger bonuses. Archie Bland and Nimo Omer take you to the top stories and what they mean, free every weekday morning Privacy Notice: Newsletters may contain information about charities, online advertising and content sponsored by external parties. For more information, see our Privacy Policy. We use Google reCaptcha to protect our website and Google’s Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply. Last week, it was revealed that annual bonuses paid to water company executives were set to rise by 20% in 2021. Figures showed executives received an average of £100,000 in lump sum payments on top of their salaries, during a period when there was stinky water pumped for 2.7m hours into England’s rivers and bathing spots. In total, the 22 water bosses paid themselves £24.8m, including £14.7m in bonuses, benefits and incentives, in 2021-22. England’s highly paid water bosses can also work second jobs, boosting their income, the Observer found. Five of the directors of England’s nine water and sewerage companies also work as non-executive directors at other companies, sitting on remuneration committees. Questions have also been raised about water companies’ handling of the drought, with standpipe bans across England at a time when the system is still plagued by leaking, wasted water. The industry and its financial regulator, Ofwat, have said water companies lost an average of 2,923.8 million liters of water per day in 2021-22, equivalent to 1.06tn liters over the year, although Ofwat said the figures remained provisional until it was completed. validation checks. Campaigners have also pointed out that no new large reservoirs have been built in decades. Water UK, which represents water companies, has been contacted for comment.
