Heavy rainfall has led to sewage warnings at numerous beaches in Cornwall, raising health concerns for locals and visitors alike
Cornwall: Over the weekend, Cornwall faced some serious rain, and now 41 beaches are dealing with sewage pollution warnings. It’s a bit of a mess, to say the least.
The charity Surfers Against Sewage (SAS) is sounding the alarm, saying many of the beaches and swimming spots might be contaminated. Their map shows a shocking number of places affected.
South West Water’s bathing water quality map backs this up, showing that a lot of the coastline has been hit by sewage overflows. It’s not a pretty sight, and it’s definitely not safe for swimming.
This downpour was no joke, with the Met Office issuing weather warnings for the area. They even mentioned the risk of local flooding, which just adds to the chaos.
When it rains heavily, sewage dumps can happen because the systems can’t handle the overflow. SAS explains that a pollution alert means storm sewage has been dumped in the area recently, which is pretty concerning.
Here’s a quick list of some of the beaches in Cornwall that have sewage warnings right now: Kingsand, Portwrinkle, Downderry, and many more. It’s a long list!
While some use of storm overflows is allowed to prevent sewage from backing up into homes, many folks are frustrated. It seems like water companies are relying on these overflows way too often.
