Sewage warnings lifted on beaches

BEACHES along Cornwall’s coast are safe to swim at again, after 10 of them were declared unsafe earlier this week.

Heavy rain for several days led to several beaches being redflagged by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs after water quality dropped.

On Wednesday, the ‘Swimfo’ map on Defra’s water quality website posted water pollution warnings for beaches on both the north and south coasts, including East Looe; Par Sands; Portmellon; Gorran Haven, Little Perhaver, St Austell; Porthluney, also near St Austell; Porthcurnick; Maenporth, Falmouth; Poldhu Cove, Mullion; Crantock, Newquay; and Porth, also near Newquay.

The warnings came after a summer of heatwaves followed by heavy rain. Water companies are legally allowed to discharge waste into the sea and rivers after periods of exceptionally heavy rain to prevent the network backing up and flooding roads, homes and businesses.

However, environmental campaigners, including St Agnes -based Surfers Against Sewage, believe more needs to be done to upgrade the sewer system in the UK and in Cornwall and to stop human faeces from being discharged into rivers and the sea where it can lead to animals, such as seabirds, becoming unwell or dying, and humans also falling ill.

As of yesterday, the Defra map showed every beach in Cornwall as a red dot rather than a red cross, meaning water quality was back to what it should be.

It was the same for Surfers Against Sewage’s own water quality app – called Safer Seas and Rivers – which showed all beaches with green ticks.