SAS Welcome South West Beaches To Their Sewage Alert Service.
16 more beaches can now offer free real time text warnings when sewage spills.
 Surfers Against Sewage are pleased to welcome an extra 24 new beaches across Cornwall and Devon to their revolutionary Sewage Alert Service. SAS have spent the past year working closely with South West Water (SWW), the Environment Agency (EA), local authorities and Visit Cornwall. SAS commend SWW for voluntarily providing SAS with real time information on raw sewage discharges from Combined Sewer Overflows (CSOs). There are now 44 beaches around England and Wales where SAS are providing free real time text message sewage alerts after raw sewage is discharged. Sites included in the Sewage Alert Service offer surfers, water sports enthusiasts and beach users the best beach experience possible.
The new beaches in Cornwall and Devon are:
• Breakwater – Torbay (BF)
• Challaborough – South Hams (BF)
• Gyllyngvase – Cornwall (BF)
• Meadfoot – Torbay (BF)
• Paignton Sands – Torbay (BF)
• Preston Sands (Paignton) – Torbay (BF)
• Polzeath – Cornwall (BF)
• Porthminster – Cornwall (BF)
• Porthtowan – Cornwall (BF)
• Salcombe South Sands – South Hams (BF)
• Westward Ho! – Torridge (BF)
• Woolacombe Village – North Devon (BF)
• The Towans (Godrevy) – Cornwall
• Porthleven (West) – Cornwall
• Crantock – Cornwall
• Bude (Summerleaze) – Cornwall
(BF denotes Blue Flag)
During the April bank holidays SAS reps asked over 50 beach users at Porthtowan, Bude and Widemouth: When untreated sewage is discharged at this beach do you believe you should be told? 100% of people asked wanted to be told.
The Sewage Alert Service gives the public power to make an informed decision on how and when to use the water and helps them avoid the threat of sewage pollution. SAS’s online map will automatically update whenever there is a CSO sewage spill and SMS text messages will be sent for free to anyone who has signed up for this service. Sign up at www.sas.org.uk or by texting “SAS (beach name)” to 64446 (messages are charged at your normal network rate, then alerts are received for free whenever they occur).
Visit Cornwall’s Director, Malcolm Bell says: “We all know how the quality of our bathing waters has been transformed over the last 20 years. BeachLive and SAS’s text service are exciting new services which will give our visitors information they can use. It’s live information that will add to our world class beach management and our competitiveness as they won’t be getting this in any other European country this summer.”
South West Water’s Operations Director, Stephen Bird says: “We look forward to working with SAS on our new BeachLive service. We have invested £2 billion over 20 years on transforming bathing water quality and this should demonstrate that on a hour by hour basis as well as giving visitors information they can really use on any risks from overflows.”
Campaign Director Andy Cummins says: “It’s great that local and visiting surfers, water sports enthusiasts and beach users throughout Cornwall and Devon can choose to use beaches that inform them immediately when raw sewage is discharged. Ensure you’ve sign up for our free real time sewage text alerts and remember, no news is good news at these beaches.
First Ever Real Time Sewage Alerts Issued For Beach Users
Real time water quality warnings issued to safeguard users at 10 popular beaches
Surfers Against Sewage (SAS) flagship Sewage Alerts Service text message warnings kicked into action last weekend during heavy downpours at some of the most popular beaches in Wales and Southern England.
For the first time ever beach users were warned in real time during raw sewage discharges at popular beaches. SAS provided this vital water quality information FREE to beach users, surfers and watersports enthusiasts who had registered for SAS’s Sewage Alert Service text alerts. The information was also updated live on SAS’s online map at www.sas.org.uk for all to access. The system also notifies subscribers when discharges stop and advises against using the sea for the following 12 hours.
Going to press, no sewage is discharging at any of the beaches participating in SAS’s Sewage Alert Service, so we can say with certainty that these beaches are sewage free today! No news is definitely good news for the beaches involved in the Sewage Alert Service.
These essential Sewage Alert Service messages were issued at:
- Manorbier (Wales)
- Broadhavern (Wales)
- Shanklin (IoW)
- Poole
- Poole Branksome Chine
- Bournemouth Christchurch
- Bournemouth Hengistbury
- Bournemouth Pier
- Boscombe Pier (home to the artificial surfing reef)
- Western Super Mare
Even during rain many of these beaches are heavily used by surfers, windsurfers and other watersports enthusiasts, so this vital water quality information can help them best choose when to hit the water.
Raw sewage is discharged via Combine Sewer Overflows (CSOs) when the sewerage system is overloaded by rain, population pressures or ineffective sewerage infrastructure. This problem can be exacerbated after long dry spells as the ground is hard and not suited to absorbing rain. That’s exactly what happened last weekend with the first downpour in weeks.
SAS provided alerts at 10 beaches, thousands of CSOs around the UK would have been discharging raw sewage into our rivers and seas. We would strongly recommend using the beaches participating in our Sewage Alert Service, as only these beaches can provide you with real time information about sewage discharges. You can get a full list of the beaches taking part here.
You can sign up for the free real time Sewage Alert Service here or visit the SAS map to check on your nearest beach taking part in this pioneering public health project.
Alternatively text “SAS (Beach Name)” to 64446. Texts to 64446 are charged at your normal network rate and you can cancel by simply texting “SAS Stop” to 64446.
SAS Campaign Director says: “Raw sewage does discharge onto our beaches and it’s a significant step forward for water companies to pass this information on. Sign up for real time sewage alert texts from SAS and you can choose how and when is best to use the sea.”
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