Rodwell & Wyke Greens Coordinator Val Graves writes: “Like many local people I swim in the sea throughout the year. As you may know, our sewerage network is a ‘combined system’, where both sewage and surface water flow into the same pipes. When that system becomes overloaded, for example when it rains heavily, water companies are allowed to discharge human sewage into the sea, at places like Sandsfoot and Castle Cove, where you can actually see the pipes.
“Local swimmers use the ‘Surfers Against Sewage’ app to find out when these discharges have taken place. Then we don’t swim for 48 hours afterwards, as people can get sick.
“This simply isn’t good enough. The water companies are monitoring themselves whilst paying huge dividends to their shareholders, and Dorset residents will pay the highest water bills in England from 1st April.
“Green councillors got a motion passed last July which commits Dorset Council to working with central government and water companies to prevent sewage discharges into our rivers and beaches. Since then, Dorset Council has been increasing pressure on developers to separate sewage and surface water and Green councillors consistently press for this through the Planning process.
“But central government needs to take responsibility. The Green Party remains alone in committing to take water back into public ownership and using the ‘profits’ to resolve this.”