Cost of sewage discharge signs in Portsmouth 'should be paid by Southern Water'

A motion urging Southern Water to do more to reduce the amount of sewage it discharges into the seas around Portsmouth will be debated by city councillors next week (March 14). It will be the third of its kind to have been debated by councillors in the last five years and has been prompted by concerns that little progress is being made, despite the company being handed tens of millions of pounds in fines.

Councillor Kimberly Barrett, the cabinet member for environment and the motion’s proposer, said she found the company’s efforts ‘frustrating’.

She said: ‘It almost feels like we are going round in circles: there are sewage discharges, they get fined, we get a small amount back on our bills and then it starts over again.

‘We have to keep up the pressure and we will do that.’

More than 300 confirmed hours of sewage discharges into Langstone Harbour have been recorded this year.

The council previously considered joining up with fellow south east councils to buy out the company and has been working with campaign groups to try and bring about improvements.

Cllr Barrett’s motion warns that sewage dumping is ‘damaging an already delicate ecosystem that we rely on as a coastal city,’ adding that it was harming people’s health, the environment and Portsmouth’s tourism industry. It makes a series of demands of Southern Water which, she said, would help build a starting point for longer term action.

These are:

• That it pays for new electronic signs on the seafront to notifying the public of recent discharges,
• That it pays for an E.coli buoy for Southsea beach,
• That it supports Langstone Harbour Board and both the city council and Havant Borough Council for a system of regular water testing,
• That it discusses plans for Budds Farm with the city council,
• And that it meets with all city councillors to discuss plans for wastewater recycling for drinking water.

The motion also will also ask the council to write to the prime minister, the environment secretary, Defra ministers and the Environment Agency to highlight concerns about the company’s performance.

The council originally requested funding for the real-time electronic signs six months ago but had had no update from the Southern Water since then.

However, a spokesman for the company said it had submitted a formal confirmation of interest in providing financial support on Monday (March 6).

Responding to the other requests, they added: ‘We are currently trialling two water quality testing buoys: one off Tankerton shore in Kent, and the other off Hayling Island… We’re also hoping to work in collaboration with the University of Portsmouth to put a water quality buoy in Langstone Harbour.’ They said data from these would be made public in the summer if the trial is successful.

The spokesman added that the company was keen to work with local authorities and was already working with Havant, Isle of Wight and Canterbury councils.

Portsmouth City Council is due to launch a consultation aimed at sea swimmers this week in a bid to understand the information they need about water quality.

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