South West Water (or should that be South West Sewage – after all, the greater majority of our bills are for sewage rather than water) discharge sewage in such quantities that this summer, the Environment Agency and Torridge District Council banned bathing at Westward Ho!.
The reason is that the Cornborough Sewage Treatment plant cannot cope. Why not?
In 1974 , after the most detailed research ‘ever conducted in British Maritime waters’, a report was produced that concluded that only a long outfall pipe through the pebble ridge would prevent sewage flowing back on to Westward Ho and Instow beaches. Over the 2 year study marker buoys and dyes were put in the water to scientifically measure where the sewage would end up. An outfall at Cornborough was rejected on the grounds of expense because of the rocky sea bed.
So they built the new sewage plant at Cornborough, and they said, ‘ we will treat the sewage with ultra violet radiation and only in exceptional rainy conditions discharge from the old sewage outfall at Rock Nose.’
Not many people realise that sewage from as far away as Sticklepath near Barnstaple is pumped all the way over to Cornborough for treatment. When you consider the number of new houses that have been built in our area in the last 15 years and the increase in our population, particularly in the tourist season, no wonder the Cornborough plant can’t cope.
I have personally seen a letter from South West Water to Torridge District Council which would indicate that South West Water Cornborough treatment works are running to capacity and could not deal with any more major development.
When I served on the Taw Torridge Estuary Committee 10 years ago we used to get a print out of sewage discharges. It often read as follows – the date – light rain – storm conditions – discharge!
Yet miraculously, Westward Ho! is always awarded Blue Flag status and Instow always fails to get it. Why?
Ignoring all that scientific data from 1974 TDC and the Environment Agency take samples of seawater in the tourist season at the Braddicks end of the beach. Lo and behold, they more often than not detect no sewage in the water at all. If however, they were to take their samples further along the beach at Sandymere they would more often than not fail, just like Instow where as the scientific study showed is where the sewage drifts on to – yet another example of government pressure to show the EU how we are cleaning up our act!
Now consider the amount of further housing NDC and TDC is trying to build in North Devon and Torridge. Not only are the jobs not there, neither is the infrastructure particularly that of sewage treatment. Indeed, certain high density housing proposals have already been turned down by SWW/Sewage for this reason. Still, we wouldn’t want to prevent developers from making a fast buck would we?