Supporters of a protest against sewage being poured into the sea off a Blue Flag beach are being urged to tell the boss of South West Water what they think about it.
Up to 300 people gathered on Gyllyngvase Beach in Falmouth on Saturday to protest about sewage pouring into the sea from a waste pipe.
It was organised by Jo Curd, owner of Longe Cote UK, based at Gyllyngvase Beach in Falmouth, on the back of yet after another waste spill alert last Tuesday.
The protestors want South West Water to take action over the spills which are threatening water based businesseses including Jo's. At the beginning of September there were 11 waste water spills in just eight days.
During the protest people were urged to email the CEO of South West Water Susan Davy at sdavy@southwestwater.co.uk by participant Marcus Williamson to let her know what they think of the pollution
"The earth is not dying it is being killed and those that are killing it have names and addresses," he said. "You've heard of South West Water, they have heads and they are responsible for what goes on. So I would urge you please to contact the boss of South West Water."
He handed out cards with the CEO's address on it urging people to contact her.
Falmouth Town Councillor and member of Greenpeace councillor Dean Evans told the crowd that when he worked for the Environment Agency 20 years ago they had the 'Clean Sweep' which was supposed to end all discharges into the sea.
"I remember saying 'Swim in the poo in 2002' and now it's 'Swim in the poo in 2022'," he said.
He said he remembered money being sent up country for investment because they said Cornwall's seas and river were too clean.
He said the spills were not unavoidable but came down to poor maintenance, poor management and under investment.
"We pay one of the highest water charges in the country," he said. "They say because of all the investment that was needed down here. Well obviously they're not keeping up with it."
Isla Hicks, aged 12, said the pollution has to stop
Young protestor, 12-year-old Isla Hicks, a member of the Gyllyngvase Surf Lifesaving Club which had to cancel a competition at the beach last weekend because of a spill, told the crowd she loved the beach as did her dad and her dog.
She said: "The surf lifesaving club train and compete here in the summer. I don't think it's just me, but the sea life probably don't appreciate the pollution and the sewage either."
She said the the sewage spills were making people ill. "This needs to stop now," she said.
A South West Water spokesperson said: “South West Water’s largest environmental investment programme in 15 years, WaterFit, is now well underway, focused on delivering benefits for customers, communities and the environment.
"Through WaterFit we will dramatically reduce our use of storm overflows, reduce and then remove our impact on river water quality by 2030 and maintain our excellent bathing water standards all year round.”
The firm added that its BeachLive service issued precautionary alerts when a storm overflow might temporarily impact bathing water quality, and that water quality at Gyllyngvase Beach and Swanpool had been rated as ‘excellent’ in the latest classifications by the Environment Agency.
It said it would be investing in the storm overflow in the Gyllyngvase area as part of its WaterFit programme to reduce spills, and making some planned enhancements to the site that would be completed within two week, which it hoped should make some immediate reductions in the number of spills.
WaterFit is the next stage in its environment strategy, with the firm saying it would be investing £330 million over the next three years into the region’s wastewater network.
South West Water added that earlier this year the region achieved 100% coastal bathing water quality for the first time across 860 miles of coastline.
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