18 August 2021

Swale Borough Councillors' Report August 2021 

One of the delights of living in this area is the easy access we have to the coast. A trip to the seaside can be a real tonic and provides a magnificent day out with family and friends. It is wonderful to be able to swim in the sea or participate in water sports. But recent news of the activities of Southern Water, the company with responsibility for sewage treatment in Kent, might make you think twice before taking a dip.

In July Southern Water was fined a record £90m for deliberately dumping 16 - 21bn litres of raw sewage into protected seas over several years for its own financial gain. The judge said: “These offences show a shocking and wholesale disregard for the environment, for precious and delicate ecosystems and coastlines, for human health, and for fisheries.” He said the company had a history of criminal activity for its “previous and persistent pollution of the environment”. It had 168 previous offences and cautions but had ignored these and not altered its behaviour.

The court case concerned offences between 2010 and 2015. But discharges of raw sewage continue. In June swimmers were advised to stay out of the sea after raw sewage was pumped into the sea at Margate, and just last week the public were advised not to swim at Tankerton and Herne Bay following a discharge of raw sewage from Southern Water’s Swalecliffe treatment works. Sischarges of untreated swage are a regular occurrence. In Thanet pollution incidents have increased by 160% in the last 3 years.

Research by Swale Green Party members has found that discharges of sewage into Faversham creek occur regularly. The Cooksditch stream in Faversham was polluted recently by sewage. We are collating records of local pollution incidents. If you have witnessed an incident, please report it to vivmbsr@gmail.com

Our rivers are also in a dire state. Not one English river is classed as being in a good condition, with sewage releases accounting for 36% of the damage to waterways, and runoff from agricultural industries responsible for 40%. If you have not already seen it, we strongly recommend watching the ‘Rivercide’ documentary (rivercide.tv/).

All of this begs the question; if Southern Water are unable to treat the current levels of sewage, how will they cope with all the extra waste from the thousands of new houses to be built around Faversham? As your local Borough Councillors this a question we will be asking as the local plan progresses. We will also be holding  Southern Water to account for their appalling performance.

In the meantime, we recommend using the free ‘Safer Seas’ app, sponsored by Surfers against Sewage, which will alert you to any discharge notifications in your local area.

Alastair Gould (AlastairGould@swale.gov.uk)

Tim Valentine (TimValentine@swale.gov.uk) 07752 191807

Swale Borough Councillors for Boughton & Courtenay.

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