England’s most celebrated beaches faced 8,500 hours of sewage dumping last year, new figures show.
Many beaches with blue flag status– an international mark of recognition that a beach is deemed safe and has good water quality – were found to have been covered in waste over the last 12 months.
Among the worst-hit were Brighton beach in Sussex, where Southern Water discharged sewage 45 times last year, over a total of more than 107 hours. Blackpool Sands beach in Devon had 63 sewage spills over a total of 1,014 hours. And Meadfoot beach in Torquay, Devon, faced 79 instances of sewage dumping, lasting for 946 hours.
The figures come from an analysis of Environment Agency data done by the Liberal Democrats.
The environment secretary, Thérèse Coffey, will announce government plans to clean up Britain’s waterways on Tuesday, but critics say the headline policy of banning plastic in wet wipes was first announced in 2018.
Coffey will also say her team is looking at reducing PFAS substances – known as forever chemicals – in materials. But her Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) admitted it did not yet have a “firm course of action”.
The Liberal Democrat environment spokesperson Tim Farron said: “Yet again, the Conservative government is taking the public for fools by re-announcing a wet wipe policy from five years ago. This is a complete farce. The government is all talk and no action when it comes to protecting our rivers and oceans from foul pollution.
“The main cause of water pollution is the water firms. Ministers are still letting water companies get away with an environmental scandal and today’s pathetic announcement will do nothing to stop that.”
Coffey has been under pressure to show that the government is acting on the sewage dumping scandal as it is becoming an issue in local elections, with rising public anger over the situation.
Farron called again for Coffey to resign. The Lib Dems previously said she should leave her post over sewage statistics released last week. He said: “This is further proof why Thérèse Coffey should resign. We need an environment secretary who actually cares about the environment. Instead, the environment secretary plans to let water companies dump sewage for decades to come whilst stealing wet wipe policies from years ago.”
Other measures in the government’s water plan include allowing unlimited fines for polluting water companies, and launching a national policy statement to allow water infrastructure to be built more easily. Ministers are also pushing for the use of smart meters for water.
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The water minister Rebecca Pow said: “This ambitious plan marks a step-change in how we manage our waters, pulling together all the strands of our complex water system, and setting us on a trajectory for a clean and sustainable water supply for future generations.
“Crucially, it will ensure that we secure clean water from a healthy environment, where chalk streams are restored and entire catchments – from source to sea – are the focal point.”
Defra has been contacted for comment.