Message was disguised

I wonder how many of your readers will have noted the Environment Agency's Press Release dated March 31 under the heading ‘Environment Agency publishes Event Duration Monitoring data for 2022’.

I ask because it was in fact a carefully disguised message relating to the Combined Sewage Overflow sewage spills into the country's rivers and beaches in 2022.

And hidden amongst the minutiae are details of Southern Water's CSO spills into the Arun & Western Streams Catchment which covers Hampshire and West Sussex.

So, once again, we have more evidence of the appalling contamination of our local rivers.

There were hundreds of spills for thousands of hours from the Southern Water pumping stations and waste water treatment works alongside the Arun from Horsham in the north and alongside the Western Rother from Petersfield in the west.

The Western Rother joins the Arun near Pulborough, and between them they contribute massively to the pollution of the lower Arun's water as it flows down the valley, alongside the internationally important and legally protected nature reserves at Waltham Brooks, Pulborough Brooks and Amberley Wildbrooks, towards Arundel and then to the sea at Littlehampton.

The detailed spillage figures for 2022 will take some time to unravel but, to illustrate the size of the problem, they include: Mannings Heath - 53 spills for 829 hours, Bury - 39 spills for 937 hours, Slinfold - 62 spills for 776 hours, Billingshurst - 45 spills for 582 hours, South Harting - 141 spills for 3155 hours, Fittleworth - 81 spills for 1468 hours, and Graffham 105 spills for 1877 hours.

It is therefore no wonder that the Arun is polluted, and it is to be hoped that this can be rectified as soon as possible.

Any solution will obviously be expensive and take time, but we need to be re-assured that Southern Water, encouraged by the Environment Agency and

‘There are a number of things that are far from right’

Natural England, as well as by all the local naturerelated pressure groups, will be addressing the problems without undue delay.

Derek Waller Surrey Wharf Arundel