South West Water: Firm slammed as a 'disgrace' as 'beautiful' beaches in Devon 'destroyed' by sewage pollution

Raw waste is continuing to be spilled into popular UK beaches despite hundreds of people joining a protest against sewage pollution. Environment charity Surfers Against Sewage interactive map is warning the public not to swim at Exmouth beach in Devon due to sewage discharges today (Thursday 22 February). It comes after ongoing sewage spills at the beach and along the Exmouth coast.

South West Water (SWW) has told local residents that it has re-launched the use of tankers to transport sewage each day from a burst pipe to pumping stations along the Exmouth coast resulting in more pollution warnings over the past week. The water firm has apologised for the disruption.

Shelly Hill posted on X, formerly Twitter, slamming SWW as a “disgrace”. She said: “@SouthWestWater you are a DISGRACE our beautiful beaches at Exmouth and surrounding are being destroyed. You are not fit for purpose.”

On Tuesday (20 February) hundreds of residents turned up outside Exmouth Town Hall to protest about the sewage discharges. Organiser Jo Bateman rallied the troops, which included swimmers, environmental groups, Exmouth Quakers and councillors.

SWW are hosting a series of coastal community roadshows across the region to share the latest business plan with customers - and the protestors gate-crashed one of its meetings. Ms Bateman told the Exmouth Journal that the protest was to show SWW that “enough is enough” and it is “just the start”, adding “with my court case as well standing up to South West Water." 

Ms Bateman took legal action in January against SWW for dumping sewage into the sea near her home after she was unable to swim there due to the pollution. Twenty-six of the 30 district council wards in East Devon have experienced an untreated sewage spill since 2022.

SWW said it was investing £38m to reduce spills at Exmouth and took its responsibilities "very seriously". A spokesman for SWW added: “We want to reassure our customers that we are working hard in Exmouth to fix the burst on one of our critical rising mains. We have now completed the extension of the temporary overland pipe which we hope to bring online later today.

“This will mean we can then stand down the tankers. We are also working on a permanent replacement of the entire rising main which we expect to complete by the end of March. We are very sorry for the disruption caused, and we will continue to keep everyone updated.”