The Environment Agency has issued pollution alerts to beachgoers and signs have been put up on some beaches to warn the public. Environmental group Surfers Against Sewage (SAS) has collected data suggesting stormwater discharges into beach waters in Cornwall, Cumbria, Devon, Essex, Lancashire, Lincolnshire, Northumberland and Sussex. Storm overflows are designed to allow sewers to overflow into rivers and the sea when they reach capacity from torrential rain. If the sewage is not released, it may flow into the streets. With much of the UK in drought, the land has become less able to absorb heavy rainfall, meaning larger than usual amounts reach drainage channels, which can cause flash flooding. The Environment Agency has issued pollution warnings, saying rainfall and flooding over the past two days has affected water quality. 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. A spokesman said: “Throughout the swimming season, daily pollution risk forecasts are made for some swimming waters where water quality may be temporarily reduced due to factors such as heavy rainfall – as is the case today – wind or tides. “When the possibility of a temporary decrease in water quality is predicted, we issue a pollution risk warning and advice against swimming. This enables bathers to make informed decisions about avoiding times or locations where the risk of pollution is higher than normal and the health risks from bathing may be higher than the annual classification suggests.” Hugo Tagholm, head of Surfers Against Sewage, said: “Every year we witness thousands of sewage spills on some of England and Wales’ most loved beaches. Water companies routinely use our rivers and beaches as sewage dumps, endangering the health of the environment and people.” He said: “Official bathing waters, including Blue Flag beaches, are affected every year, with nearly 3,500 incidents of sewage pollution recorded in the 2021 swimming season alone. “Southern Water tops the dirty beaches league table, with an average of 38 sewage alerts for their beaches between May and September 2021. Almost a third of our reports of illness are also linked to beaches in their area.” Real-time pollution alerts can be viewed on the Safer Seas & Rivers Service, which provides live information on hundreds of beaches and rivers across the country.
