Clean Water Watch
A regular column to update readers on the damaging effects of the current management of water in Hastings, surrounding areas (and nationally) and what people are doing about it. If you have any information, please contact [email protected] marked Clean Water Watch.
TOWN CENTRE FLOODING
We are all aware that there is little trust between the public and the water companies and the recent floods just added to that view. At a cabinet meeting on 6 November, the leader of the council, Paul Barnett, said: “I was unimpressed on the day of the floods with the response of most of the agencies we’ve been talking to over the last two years about water problems.” Those affected in the town might have reacted more strongly (see page 7, One woman, Four Floods, No Justice).
Cllr Barnett went on to say that those agencies had now all stepped up to make new commitments to resolve this matter and make Hastings a priority. He also reassured people watching the meeting live or online that “we’re in a stronger position now than we were two weeks ago, both-short term and in response to any future emergencies.”
But lessons learned and commitments made can be quickly forgotten; especially when the root of the problem is a complex web combining lack of commitment, poor communication, deliberate obfuscation, lack of resources and underinvestment within and between the various agencies involved. Trust should be earned. We will continue to watch developments.
SEWAGE CONTAMINATION GROUP (SCG)
At the same meeting, Myriam Lengliné of SCG asked a question about the lack of warning signs in the gill, something the group have been asking about since the pollution incident in May this year which promoted action from local residents. Poor communication and obfuscation appeared to be at the heart of this brief exchange. The question had been prompted by a meeting in the gill between Laura Morden of SCG and an environmental officer at the Environment Agency (EA). During the meeting he apparently clarified that, as riparian owner of the gill, it was the council who were responsible for putting up signs after the spill on 14 May.
The response from Cllr Paul Barnett was significant: “If we put up a sign saying the water is not safe, that could be very difficult for our relationship with the EA.” This despite strong evidence from the EA testing downstream from the gill and residents testing in the gill that there are high levels of E. coli. Speaking next, Cllr Ali Roark pointed out that HBC has a commitment from SW for an ecological survey of the gill following a meeting the previous week.
This hints at politics coming before the safety of the public, their pets and wildlife in the gill. As well as poor communication and obfuscation, it also raises another issue already mentioned: under-resourcing. This seems a likely reason that an ‘ecological survey’ from SW is, even now, just a commitment, and the EA appears unwilling to undertake such activity.
[Within the bylaws for Old Roar Gill Nature Reserve Section 2, Areas of water (x) “committing any act which pollutes or is likely to cause pollution of any water” is prohibited.]
TEST RESULTS FROM CWAG
As if to underline the pollution/testing problem, here are the latest results from the citizens group, Clean Water Action (CWAG).
St Helen’s Down (Pelham Beach – direct outfall sample):8,200cfu/100ml for E. coli and 5,300cfu/100ml for faecal streptococci (a strong sewage smell noted at the site)
Coombs Hastings (Goat Ledge – surrounding water sample):7,200cfu/100ml for E. coli and 800cfu/100ml for faecal streptococci
Seaside Road Hastings (West Marina Beach – direct outfall sample):>1,000,000cfu/100ml for E. coli and >360,000cfu/100ml for faecal streptococci
Note: Safe E. coli levels for bathing water quality are <500cfu/100ml and faecal streptococci <185cfu/ 100ml
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