Sewage pollution warnings issued on 11 beaches in Cornwall today after heavy rainfall

A total of 11 beaches around Cornwall have been hit by water quality warnings today following heavy rainfall across the region on Saturday. Much of Cornwall was battered by near-constant rain yesterday – and it has led to sewage flooding in a number of coastal areas.

Sewage dumps are often blamed on heavy rainfall, with flooding – a combination of surface water and domestic sewage – used to prevent drains from becoming overloaded. However, the side effect of this is that sewage often ends up in the sea – which is not pleasant for swimmers.

And an interactive map from the Safer Seas & River Service is warning swimmers and surfers of beaches affected by sewage discharged from an overflowing drain in the past 48 hours. Below is a full list of locations in Cornwall:

• Fistral North
• Fistral South
• Kranock
• Trevaunance Bay
• Godrevy Towans
• Gwithian Towans
• Perranuthnoe
• Cover
• Ready Money Cove
• East Looe
• Millendreath

The list includes the beaches at Fistral, the UK’s most famous surfing beach, and the National Trust beach at Godrevy Towans. Elsewhere in Cornwall, sewerage systems at Polzeath, Porthleven Sands and Portmellon are currently undergoing maintenance, with real-time sewer alerts disabled by the water company.

Speaking about storm flooding in the region, a spokesperson for South West Water said: “We are serious about tackling storm flooding and we know we have more to do. Changes of this scale take time, ambition and more investment – that’s why we are investing £2.8 billion in our region. We care deeply about our 860 miles of coastline and our region’s 100% bathing water quality, which we have successfully maintained for three years running.

“We were one of the first water companies to monitor 100% of our storm floods, meaning we know exactly what’s happening, when and where, allowing us to target investments and changes where it matters most. We will be the first water company to meet the government’s target of fewer than 10 leaks per flood per year – a decade ahead of target.”

For a full list of locations across the UK where sewage contamination warnings are currently in place, please see this interactive map here.