Santa swim sewage protest at Gyllyngvase Beach cancelled

A Santas Against Sewage swimming event had to be called off due to sewage in the water prompting an onshore protest over pollution instead.

Surfers Against Sewage Cornwall had planned the festive event at Gyllyngvase Beach, Falmouth for Sunday to raise awareness of water quality.

On Friday the campaign group said South West Water had released storm discharge into the sea and instead of swimming, it said supporters should protest on the beach. One protester said it was “ironic” they could not get in the water.

South West Water (SWW) said recent heavy rainfall had caused storm overflows in Queen Mary Gardens to activate “in line with their permits”.

Falmouth University students Jasmine Boniface, 20, and Verity Jones, 21, had planned to take part in the Santa swim but instead joined protesters on the beach.

Ms Boniface said: “We were planning to get in the sea and stand up for the fact that lots of people use the water and we need to be able to show how we feel about the pumping of loads and loads of sewage into it and making it unsafe.

“The fact we find out we can’t even get in the water for the protest is so ironic.”

Ms Jones agreed and said: “It really just proves the point of why we’re here.

“It’s awful and it’s shocking but at the same time no one is really shocked because that’s why we’re here.”

Jess Morris, a regional representative for Surfers Against Sewage in Falmouth, said the original event had been planned as “a really nice event to get in the sea and have a good group swim”.

She said: “I’m absolutely livid, I really am. This is the third year we’ve done this event and the second time we’ve had to cancel it because of South West Water.”

In a statement SWW said: “We are serious about reducing the use of storm overflows but change of this scale takes time, ambition and increased investment.”

The company said it had started the installation of a new storm water storage tank beneath the Gyllyngvase Beach car park in October, which would increase the sewers’ capacity and “significantly reduce” the use of storm overflows.

Ms Morris said the works were “good but not enough is happening and it’s not happening fast enough”.

“We need bigger infrastructure and huge changes and we need it now,” she added.

SWW described storm overflows as “essential pressure-relief valves” that prevent sewage backing up into homes, businesses and public spaces during intense rain.

The water firm said storm overflows were a mix of surface water and sewage and rainwater made up the majority.

In July the Water Services Regulation Authority (Ofwat) proposed a £24m enforcement package for SWW after an investigation into its failures in managing wastewater treatment works and sewer networks.