A general view of Silver Sands Beach, Isle of WightSOUTHERN WATER has sparked fury with “absolutely disgusting” plans to dump sewage into a major Isle of Wight tourist hotspot, which is home to rare seagrass habitats and seahorses.
The utility firm announced it will add a 22-metre extension to an old sewage pipe to release untreated waste into shallow lagoon waters at Silver Sands Beach on Bembridge Point during heavy rainfall several times a year.
Located near Bembridge Harbour on the island’s east coast, the area is regularly visited by holidaymakers and water users and is home to an array of habitats and species, including rare offshore seagrass meadows, seahorses, Mediterranean gulls and herrings.
Local residents and campaigners have hit out over the plan’s potential harm to marine ecosystems, the negative impact on local tourist businesses, and public health risks from diseases such as E.coli and enterococci.
Surfers Against Sewage (SAS) chief executive Giles Bristow said: “People are rightly furious.
“Southern Water wants communities to accept more sewage pollution on their beaches while its CEO Lawrence Gosden took home £1.4 million last year — double his previous pay packet.”
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