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South West Water has accelerated work to improve bathing water quality at four southwest beaches with £1.6 million investment brought forward from 2025 to this year.
The work to reduce the reliance on combined sewer overflows (CSOs) was completed ahead of this summer at three Cornish beaches and one in Devon. The four developments include redirecting drainage water away from the combined sewer network to reduce pressure on the system during heavy rainfall. Another project included the decommissioning of a wastewater treatment site that used to discharge into a stream running to the beach. It has been replaced with a pumping station that transfers wastewater to another site for treatment before discharging.
A 300-cubic metre storm storage tank has been built at another wastewater treatment site to reduce the number of overflows in wet weather.
Matt Crabtree, engineering director, explained these projects are part of the organisation’s 15-year £150 million environmental programme that has specific bathing and river quality targets.
He said: “We care deeply about sustainability and take our guardianship of the natural environment very seriously and so it’s great that the team were able to accelerate these improvements.”
More than 98 per cent of beaches in the region meet bathing quality standards with 85 per cent rated as excellent.
The company is working with local authorities and the Environment Agency (EA) to address pollution coming from other sources including dog poo and improperly disposed of rubbish.
Bruce Newport, EA area environment manager, said: “We are delighted to see the sewer improvements made by South West Water ahead of this summer. We know there is a long way to go and ask householders, farmers and businesses to ensure their wastewater does not enter our rivers and streams which all end up in the sea and foul our beautiful coast.”
The work comes as Ofwat’s interim chief executive has written to the heads of water and sewerage companies reminding them to make plans to improve monitoring and management of overflows.
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