DAMNING new data from the Environment Agency shows sewage was discharged in Cornwall waters for 290,271 hours last year.
Over 25 of Cornwall's beaches had sewage discharge warnings within the past 48 hours alone, according to data from the Safer Seas and Rivers Service, while the Environment Agency today released its annual data on sewage spills across the UK in 2022.
Popular Cornwall beaches such as Gyllngvase, Swanpool, Fistral, Pollurian Cove, Polzeath Beach, and Long Rock beach were among those flagged up as having sewage discharged from a sewer overflow within the past 48 hours.
According to the EA data, South West Water, a firm that declared £135m in profits in 2022, poured sewage into English water for 290,271 hours during the same year.
In total, raw sewage was dumped into rivers and coastal areas across England by water companies for a total of 1.7million hours in 2022 – the equivalent of 4,808 hours every single day.
While the data shows a 19% reduction in the number of sewage spills nationally - down from 372,533 in 2021 to 301,091 spills in 2022 - this is largely due to last year’s below-average rainfall.
South West Water’s Chief Operating Officer, John Halsall, said: "We are reducing the use of storm overflows and our plan is working but there is more to do. We want everyone to feel confident about the water quality at their favourite beaches and to know that we are serious about reducing the use of storm overflows.
"The beaches in the South West belong to those who live in the region and are loved by those who visit. We need to stop the overuse of storm overflows. Sharing better data with the public is the right thing to do and that’s why we’ve installed 100% monitoring on our storm overflows, ahead of target.
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“Earlier this month, we launched WaterFit Live, ahead of this year’s bathing season. Customers and visitors can go online to find out more and through Your Beach, Your Say, Our Investment, help shape where we invest next.”
The director of the Good Law Project, a UK-based political non-profit company, said the issue boiled down to the 'stranglehold' the corporate owners of these water companies had on the UK government.
Good Law Project director, Jolyon Maugham, said: “The right answer is new laws to bring this shocking state of affairs to an end.
"The problem is the stranglehold that the corporate owners of these huge water companies have over Government policymaking.
"And the victim is the public, you and I, who live in a country that is, literally, overflowing with raw sewage."
The Good Law Project recently supported legal action brought by the Manchester Ship Canal Company against United Utilities to challenge the water company’s attempts to escape legal accountability for sewage dumping.
The case was heard in the Supreme Court in Manchester at the beginning of March and is currently awaiting the decision.
Good Law Project says it has launched a legal challenge, alongside the Marine Conservation Society, Richard Haward’s Oysters and surfer and activist Hugo Tagholm, which seeks to compel the Government to make tougher targets.
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Environment Agency Executive Director John Leyland said: "The decrease in spills in 2022 is largely down to dry weather, not water company action.
"We want to see quicker progress from water companies on reducing spills and acting on monitoring data.
"We expect them to be fully across the detail of their networks and to maintain and invest in them to the high standard that the public expect and the regulator demands."
Water Minister Rebecca Pow said: "The volume of sewage being discharged into our waters is unacceptable and we are taking action to make sure polluters are held to account.
"By bringing in comprehensive monitoring – up from just 7% in 2010 to the most extensive level ever now being at 91% – this government and its regulators have enabled the extent of sewage discharges to be revealed, so that we are better equipped to tackle this challenge.
"We have set the strictest targets ever on water companies to reduce sewage discharges, and are requiring them to deliver the largest infrastructure programme in their history – an estimated £56 billion in capital investment over the next 25 years, driving more improvements. This is the game-changing action that will make the difference we need."
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