| UK beaches will have poor water quality warnings |
| Monday, 16 November 2009 14:37 |
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Clean water campaigners Surfers Against Sewage (SAS) have received strong support for a pilot scheme to warn beach users of potential poor water quality at a meeting organised by MP Julia Goldsworthy. The pilot project will be running on (some) beaches in the South West for the 2010 bathing season. Since SAS starred in this summer’s Panorama, “Britain’s Dirty Beaches”, the most watched Panorama of the year, SAS have been lobbying for short term pollution warnings. These warnings would inform beach users of potential pollution from a CSO discharging raw sewage and waste water or other pollution sources. The concept received strong support from Julia Goldsworthy, the Environment Agency and Cornwall Council. The proposed project will be piloted at popular Cornish beaches. This pilot project will investigate ways to warn the public of a short term pollution incident. Everyone attending the meeting recognised that there are many potential sources of pollution that can impact on bathing waters, including CSOs, agricultural and urban runoff. CSOs discharging raw sewage and wastewater can have a short-term impact on water quality and on the health of water users. The project could include using new technology to warn the public when a CSO is spilling sewage into river or onto beaches. This pilot project is great news and a first for beaches around the UK. Warning the public when water quality might be reduced will become more important in the revised Bathing Water Directive and this initiative could help demonstrate best practice to be replicated across the UK. Liberal Democrat MP for Falmouth and Camborne Julia Goldsworthy says: “Cornwall has fantastic beaches which are vital to our local economy, so it’s important that we are at the cutting edge of best practice in keeping them clean and safe. Surfers Against Sewage have done a great job in campaigning on these issues, and bringing them to public attention through the BBC Panorama programme. I’m delighted that there is now have a positive outcome to all this work, with a pilot scheme that will be the first of its type in the country.”
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