WESSEX Water will meet next week with campaigners protesting against the water supply company, following "horrific" sewage spills in local piers.

Representatives from Sorted Surf Shop, based on Boscombe Beach, will meet with Wessex Water directors on Tuesday to address concerns and possible amendments to the sewage network system in the area. 

Apparent sewage spills in the sea has resulted in Sorted Surf planning a campaign against Wessex Water, with the surf equipment shop claiming that the spills have caused beaches to close “countless times” over the last 18 months – which Wessex Water denies.

A campaign message on Facebook reads: “The pollution on our beaches has been horrific, leading to constant beach closures and serious danger to public health. This is all avoidable.”

Maya Carswell, Surf Shop manager, said: “Recently, locals have been picking out dead rats, needles, nappies and sanitary towels from the sea on spill days. Surfers have noticed the water smells stagnant, and you can physically see the brown water on spill days.

“For the past two years, we have had constant issues with Wessex Water spilling sewage and surface water through their 'overflow' at the end of Boscombe Pier.

“These spills mean the beach is red flagged by RNLI lifeguards, and we cannot run lessons or hire due to the foul water quality. Even on days where there have been no spills, the water quality has been noticeably foul and hazardous.

“We’re essentially asking that they either improve the filtration system or reimburse us the money for the days we are out of business.”

However, ahead of the meeting, a Wessex Water spokesperson told the Daily Echo that some of the information released by the Surf Shop was “wholly wrong and inaccurate”. 

They said: “Our main concerns are the misleading claims in the campaign that people are reading and believing. For example, images showing supposed foul water actually shows silt from highway gullies. Also, no beaches have been closed due to overflows and we have no evidence of wildlife being destroyed.

“We realise there is much debate about the use of storm overflows around the UK, and we completely agree that in an ideal world we wouldn’t have storm overflows, which currently have a role to play in protecting properties from flooding during heavy rainfall. We absolutely support ambitions to reduce any impact they have. 

“Removing them will require significant investment and disruption as pipework was laid under streets, homes and businesses many, many years ago. There’s a need for collaboration and a change in approach by the government to no longer allow developers to connect surface water to sewerage systems which carry foul water.

“This week we have arranged to meet with a representative of the surf shop to go through their concerns. We will also be letting them know that some of the images and words used are wrong and misleading, and are naturally causing concern among local people.”

Boscombe beach has a Combined Sewer Outflow in place which spills during heavy rainfall. The RNLI red flagged Boscombe Pier 12 times between June and October 2020, meaning that nobody could enter the water “under any circumstances” due to “possible water quality issues”.