news release
    17th May 2005

Southern Water have applied to the Environment Agency for sewage discharge consents for the proposed new sewage plant in Brighton. The proposal does not include full sewage treatment and therfore should be objected against in terms of public health, water quality and sustainability. Please show your support to this campaign and add your name to the following letter and email it immediatedly and no later than Friday 20th May to:

brightonsewerscheme@environment-agency.gov.uk

Regulatory Support (Water Quality) Team
Environment Agency
Saxon House
Little High Street
Worthing
West Sussex
BN11 1DH

OBJECTION TO:

Reference A.1240/S/05, Reference A.1241/S/05, Reference A.142/S/05, Reference A.1243/S/05

Dear Sir,

I am writing to object to Southern Water's 4 applications for Consent to Discharge in relation to the proposed new wastewater conveyance and discharge scheme serving the Brighton and Hove, Roedean, Ovingdean, Woodingdean, Rottingdean, Saltdean, Saltdean East and Peacehaven conurbations.

My grounds for objection relate to water quality and our based on a proposal that I believe to be not only bad for water quality but also sustainability.

In light of current sewage treatment methods I believe it is unacceptable to only treat the sewage effluent to secondary level. For the past 10 years tertiary levels of sewage treatment have been used to properly treat sewage before its discharge to sea, particularly for coastal resorts popular for bathing and recreation. This method uses either UV disinfection or microfiltration and its treatment has been highly successful in eradicating harmful bacteria and viruses. Without such treatment such bacteria and viruses present in poorly treated sewage effluent present a health risk and are well proven in causing sickness in the water user.

From Shoreham to Peacehaven and beyond the coastline is hugely popular for year round recreational watersports. Surfing, windsurfing, bodyboarding, kitesurfing, sea kayaking, diving and dinghy sailing are all particularly popular and the coastline around the proposed development is often used for national and international contests. Most of these sports present greater health risks than the average bather is likely to face as these sports involve more ingestion and immersion in water.

The plans to build storm sewer overflows alongside Brighton Marina are also of concern. Popular surf breaks centred on the eastern side of the Marina may be affected by untreated sewage with the prevailing south westerly winds likely to blow untreated effluent around and into one of the key surfing spot on this coastline. Surfers Against Sewage have noted an increase in pollution incidents from sewer overflows that have impacted on bathers/recreational water users health over the last few years and have concerns that such overflows are flowing too frequently and will become increasingly under pressure from climate change. This is a big concern for local water users and ensuring good water quality.

This month the European Parliament has voted to amend the 1976 EU Bathing Water Directive and part of the improvement of this Directive focuses on improving the water quality standards set down in this Directive. With an expected tighter water quality standards to be agreed by the EU, Brighton's beaches are likely to drop down a category in classification and it would not be impossible for them to be seeing beach re-classifications of good, sufficient or poor in Brighton's case. An adoption of tertiary treatment now would make allow local beaches to meet the higher standards year on year, whereas a secondary level treatment is unlikely to make the grade. The upgrade to tertiary would be a small cost for the company to bear in terms of the overall project cost. Surfers Against Sewage predict the cost at no more than £4million on a project that is already costing £200million.

The most compelling reason why the Environment Agency should reject these discharge consents is that Southern Water proposal seeks to waste water rather than re-use it. The Southern Region Environment Agency reports water shortages in the region, particularly in the summer. If the Southern Water proposal treated effluent properly the wastewater could be reused to offset some of these shortages rather than wasted at sea. To add to this issue South East Water are planning to build a hugely expensive desalination plant at Newhaven – a stone's throw from the proposed Peacehaven developments that aims to treat seawater. So as one plant discharges water that could be treated to offset water shortages, another expensive plant is being used to treat seawater to be used on land!!!!

As water customer and someone conscious of climate change implications on water supply such proposals are wasteful of water bill payers and sustainability.

In light of this and the additional recreational activity against the current bathing activity I call on the Environment Agency to issue consents only when the company has agreed to provide UV disinfection as a tertiary treatment from the start of the new works being built.

Yours sincerely,

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