Observer Article May 2023
Last week the water companies of England issued what seemed to be a coordinated and belated apology for repeated sewage spills and pledged to invest £10bn this decade in an attempt to quell public anger over pollution in seas and rivers. It sounded good until discovering that all this will be passed on to consumers in their bills, not taken out of company profits and bonuses which are sky high this year.
It’s thanks to groups like Surfers Against Sewage and Clean Water Action keeping up the pressure on the water companies that we even have the apology that came out last week but words are not enough. Our local Green Party Councillor Amanda Jobson took part in the Great Paddle Out organised at the weekend by Surfers against Sewage to highlight the anger felt by paddle boarders and canoeists. They are calling for a 90% reduction in sewage discharges by the end of the decade.
Yet, apart from the Green Party our politicians remain silent on the question of taking water back into public hands.
Last week we have seen yet another sewage spill resulting from a blocked pipe that has killed fish in Buckshole reservoir and left Old Roar Ghyll in a sorry state, stinking and full of chemicals. At the time of writing this has still to be cleaned up.
There has been a missed connections team working across the water shed that feeds into the streams in Alexandra park and then out to Pelham Beach for some years now and they have done good work making sure toilets, baths and sinks are connected into the foul drains not our rainwater pipes. However with this year’s Blue Flag awarded to Marina but yet again not for Pelham Beach, where the water quality is good but not excellent, it’s clear more needs to be done.
It is still the case that the Environment Agency only samples water from May to September yet most of the big combined sewer overflows (CSOs) happen in the winter and we have many people now wanting to swim year round.
We are still waiting for the independent report on the causes of the town centre flooding despite it being commissioned by East Sussex County Council back in February. With big plans to rejuvenate the town centre being funded by the Town Deal it’s essential we know what Southern Water is going to do to prevent another town centre flood. They need to lay out proper plans to invest in the infrastructure required to avoid yet more bad news on sewage spills such as Bulverhythe residents have had to endure this year. Alongside this the Environment Agency and Ofwat need to be given the teeth to enforce better standards.
On a cheerier note look out for another free Job fair coming up supported by our Green councillor Tony Collins and Hastings Chamber of Commerce at Christchurch, London Road on 16 June from 10.00 am – 2.00 pm. All jobs offered pay the living wage and no zero hours contracts.