Watch out for the autumn rains, you could end up windsurfing amongst raw sewage

Windsurfers wait expectantly for the autumn storms bringing plenty of wind and rain and excellent
conditions for coastal sailing.

But Surfers against Sewage recommend you pick your beach very carefully, because as the storm overflows kick in with the extra rain; many coastal areas suffer from raw sewage being pumped into them as the normal sewage drains just can’t cope.

The two incidents below show just how dangerous sailing in British coastal waters can be.

Incident 1:
12 people suffered from ECOLI 0157 after they bathed and paddled in a stream on to the beach at Watergate Bay in Cornwall this summer.

Incident 2:
3 children caught Impetigo after bathing at Gwithian beach also in Cornwall in August. The local council had closed the beach fearing sewage pollution emanating from the Red River. Sanitary waste was found hanging from the river bank trees: nice!

What is Ecoli 0157?
Escherichia coli (E. coli) is a bacteria that normally lives in the intestines of people and animals. Most strains of E coli are quite harmless. However, there are five unique classes of E. coli that can cause inflammation of the stomach and bowels known as gastroenteritis.

The strain of E. coli called E coli O157:H7 produces toxins which can damage the lining of the intestine and lead to major health problems. Symptoms include diarrhoea with painful abdominal cramps which usually last for 6 to 8 days. Long term effects include inflammation of the bowel which can lead to anemia and kidney failure in extreme cases.

What is Impetigo?
Impetigo is an infection of the skin caused by bacteria. A common route of infection is contact with sewage especially if you have a small cut or scrape on your skin. It looks disgusting and is quite sore but can be treated with antibiotics that are given for up to 7 to 10 days.

The Short Term Solution:
Better signage so recreational water users are aware when the beaches are CLOSED. 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.

The long term solution:
The UK does have much higher standards of sewage treatment at wastewater plants. But SAS are concerned that 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 (Combined Sewer and Stormwater overflows) are likely to be the cause of more pollution incidents each year particularly in the stormy autumn months.

“These incidents are of great interest to us in relation to human health and sewage pollution. I would like to remind people of the death of youngster Heather Preen who contracted Ecoli0157 in 1999. A permanent sign is now in place at Dawlish beach in Devon following recommendations of the 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.” Richard Hardy, SAS Campaigns Director

A classic case of impetigo

Not what you what from your weekend away in Cornwall

You may leave with more than a sore back after a days sailing at Gwithian beach.