Joint Labour Group leader and Goldmid Councillor John Allcock discusses the continued release of sewage into our oceans in The Argus.

“I’m sure many readers have been enjoying the later summer sun after an unusually cloudy August.

“As a keen swimmer I have really enjoyed getting into the sea most mornings.

“I’ve been in touch with Brighton and Hove based South Coast Sirens, a fantastic group of all year-round sea swimmers (braver than me) who are dedicated to making the seas around the South Coast permanently free from pollution and sewage spills.

“South Coast Sirens was set up by sea users in and around Brighton, in response to serious health and safety implications of the continued sewage releases for humans and marine life.

“Southern Water, along with other privately owned water companies, have become a byword for environmental pollution and foul play in the dirty business of wastewater management.

“New majority shareholder, asset management fund Macquarie, invested £1 billion in Southern Water this August and stated that £2 billion of investment will be made in the next four years and that 2019’s pollution levels will be halved.

“Southern Water’s Beachbuoy app provides data on sewage spills… The site suggests that these sewage releases only occur when there has been very high rainfall. However, regular sea users have noticed raw sewage being released on dry days too.

“South Coast Sirens campaigns to raise funds for independent water quality testing to supplement the summer testing carried out by the Environment Agency.

“Perhaps water companies need to be taken back into public ownership for this to happen…”

Read Councillor Allcock’s full column in The Argus here

Photo credit: Creative commons.