press release
    3rd September 2004

Surfers Against Sewage (SAS) have been concerned by the news that up to 12 people are reported to be suffering from Ecoli 0157, some of whom have been linked to bathing or paddling in a stream which runs on to the beach at Watergate Bay.

We have contacted all relevant authorities involved and are waiting for further information that could pinpoint the source of pollution.

In a separate incident we are currently investigating 3 'impetigo' incidents at Gwithian beach on the 19 th August. This was the day that Penwith District Council closed Gwithian beach fearing sewage pollution emanating from the Red River. Water quality samples taken on that date have subsequently shown water quality in the sea and the river were well below the minimum European bathing water standards and therefore represented a risk to public health.

The 'impetigo' incident involved 3 children from a Yorkshire family who were bathing in the sea at Gwithian on the 19 th August and then left the water as they saw lifeguards red flagging the beach due to the suspected pollution incident. Impetigo is an infection of the skin caused by bacteria. One of the most common routes of infection is through contact with sewage.

Subsequent investigations by SAS on the 20 th August at the Kieve Mills Combined Sewer and Stormwater Overflow (CSO) found sanitary related debris ejected from the overflow. Much of which was hanging in trees and branches on the riverbank of the Red River highlighting the overflow had recently been running very severely.

This is the second summer in a row where beach pollution incidents have been linked so closely with sewage related illness in humans - much of it in young children. SAS have been calling on all local authorities to improve their beach signage information to highlight potential sources of sewage pollution and when the risks of becoming sick rise, for example after heavy rainfall. That way beachgoers or recreational water users have more information to make informed choices for themselves about when using the water.

We are doubly concerned that although we have much higher standards of sewage treatment at wastewater plants the government and water industry are not building climate change statistics into their investment programmes sufficiently and this could have knock-on affect for water quality results at bathing waters in the coming years. CSO's are likely to be the cause of more pollution incidents each summer.

SAS have praised the precautionary approaches of both Penwith District Council and Restormel Borough Council in dealing with signage relating to these incidents however we believe 'There's No Such Thing As Too Much Information' and improved signage should be in place as a matter of urgency across the country. All local authorities nation-wide should be updating their beach signage to warn of times when pollution is likely to occur and to use permanent signage to mark all sewage discharge points accessible to the general public.

Richard Hardy, SAS Campaigns Director says: "These incidents are of great interest to us in relation to human health and sewage pollution. Whilst it is too early to say what the source of pollution was relating to Watergate Bay and the Ecoli 0157 outbreak it warrants a thorough investigation, particularly following the death of youngster Heather Preen who contracted Ecoli0157 in 1999. A permanent sign is now in place at Dawlish beach following recommendations of a Coroner at the inquest into the young girl's death. Heather Preen and her family had walked through a mixture of raw sewage and rainwater discharged by an un-marked CSO during a family visit to the beach. Heather's mother has said that if the sign had been there when the family visited the beach they would never have walked across the stream of effluent as it made its way to the sea".

For more information or to contact the family in Yorkshire whose 3 children are currently suffering from Impetigo please contact Richard Hardy on Tel: 0845 4583001 or Mob: 07711767548.