Clean Water Watch
A regular column to update readers on the damaging effects of our current management of water in Hastings and the surrounding area and what people are doing to improve the current disastrous situation. There will also be some reference to developments in relevant national campaigns. If you have any updates, please contact [email protected] marked Clean Water Watch.
Meeting 2: Old Roar Gill Campaigners, the Pumphouse, Alexandra Park
Campaigners at the meeting on 3 August called for Old Roar Gill and the Buckswood Reservoir in Alexandra Park to be granted bathing water status as one way of protecting the waters from the dumping of raw sewage. Rebecca Sinker from the Clean Water Action Group (CWAG) explained this would require the Environment Agency (EA) to conduct more intensive pollution monitoring to ensure safe swimming.
There is continued anger that Southern Water doesn’t take sewage leaks seriously and still fails to acknowledge that they constitute a major public health risk. Water quality samples taken by the CWAG in July found extremely high levels of E-coli: 8,800 cfu/100 ml (colony forming units per 100 ml of water) against a bathing water standard set by the EA of up to 500 cfu/100 ml.
The third meeting was to be on Friday 18 August with Cllr Andy Batsford leading a walking meeting from the top of Buckswood Reservoir, but it was unexpectedly cancelled.
Local documentaries under discussion
Two local filmmakers are considering producing documentaries about the behaviour of Southern Water and privatised water companies in general.
Hasting Borough Council
Updates to come. To report problems with Southern Water you can use this link: tinyurl.com/myfu7bb3
Our Local MP
A number of local residents have received identical, empty responses from Sally-Ann Hart which indicate her unwillingness to engage on the embarrassing issue (for the Conservative Party) of privatised water companies.
National
Ongoing: Good Law Project challenged the Government’s inadequate plans to tackle sewage dumping in the High Court in early July. This was in support of claims by the Marine Conservation Society, Richard Haward’s Oysters plus surfer and activist, Hugo Tagholm. A separate claim by conservation campaign group WildFish was heard at the same time. Judgements to be made later this year.
For further information visit: goodlawproject.org/the-sewage-scandal-and-what-we-are-doing-about-it
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