2023-06-13 10:09:58
Several English beaches are polluted with wastewater flowing into the sea. A national problem since swimming in all weathers became more democratic with the pandemic. Water distributors, privatized across the Channel 35 years ago, are singled out.
For the past five years, yoga teacher Beverly Glock has started her daily routine with a jump into the sea. like winter. Before submerging her head, this inveterate swimmer not only checks that the water is not too cold, she also consults her phone in the event of a pollution alert.
“There’s an app that warns us if there’s a sewer spill. And in that case, the advice we’re given is to keep your head above water, so no swimming crawl, no head under the water. water for 48 hours,” Beverly Glock told RTS.
It’s when the weather is bad that Beverly is most wary of water quality. Sewer systems, which often date back to Victorian times, are too old to withstand heavy rains. Water distributors are then authorized to discharge surpluses into the sea and rivers to avoid backflow to homes. A permission they abuse, sometimes even in dry weather.
A problem that is not new
Last year, more than 300,000 sewage discharges were recorded across the country, according to the environmental agency. The problem is not new, but in Lyme Regis, as elsewhere, residents no longer tolerate such foul spills.
Grenville Barr, of Surfers Against Sewers, has been campaigning since the 1990s. and what do the water companies do? They don’t have enough water in the summer, they dump their sewage all year round, and their managers get huge bonuses,” he explains.
Faced with the government’s apathy, more and more citizens are mobilizing. In Lyme Regis, a group of volunteers formed 18 months ago to monitor the Lim, a small picturesque river which crosses the town before flowing into the sea. Once populated by trout and eels, the course of water has been transformed by the sewers into an ecological desert and sullies one of the most beautiful beaches in the region.
>> To read also: Mobilization against pollution of British sewers in the English Channel
Citizens are mobilizing
Equipped with a rapid analysis kit, Rob Thomas, a retired accountant, takes samples every month: “The test result is blue, it’s a very bad result. This corresponds to a very high level of ammonia The course of action now is to report it to Southwest Water,” he said.
As citizen initiatives multiply and evidence accumulates, pressure is mounting on water distributors. Last May they apologized for their inaction and pledged £10billion to upgrade sewers.
An unsatisfactory commitment for Grenville Barr. For this activist, only a tightening of the legislation will make it possible to overcome this scourge of the sewers. As the next elections approach, the subject has risen to the ranks of national concerns.
Radio subject: Catherine Ilic
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