CLIMATE activists protested along the banks of the River Stour at Blandford in response to sewage being released into the river.

Members of Extinction Rebellion Wimborne held the protest on Sunday, August 22.

The group has claimed that Wessex Water discharged raw sewage into Dorset rivers and coastal waters on 28,994 occasions in 2020 for 237,035 hours.

Peter Aldous, a retired ship captain from Blandford who took part in the protest, said : "Over recent years the river has changed for the worse. It used to have stretches of clear water but now plants are covered with algae, a sure sign of pollution."

Wessex Water has rebutted this and said that the protesters are referring to storm overflows, which are generally used during heavy rainfall and "rarely cause pollutions when operating correctly".

A Wessex Water spokesperson said: "Storm overflows are used during heavy rainstorms to protect properties from flooding and prevent sewers from overflowing into streets.

"They are part of an older type of combined sewer system which carries both surface water and foul water, meaning the discharges are heavily diluted and are rarely attributed to any pollution incidents or harm to the environment.

"In an ideal world we wouldn’t have storm overflows, but to upgrade the system is simply not feasible without demolishing buildings, causing serious disruption, and investing substantial sums of money."

Storm overflows are used during heavy rainfall events to protect properties from flooding when the combined sewerage system, which carries foul and surface water, reaches capacity.

The spokesperson said: "We monitor storm overflows 24/7 and the ‘coast and rivers watch’ page of our website is updated whenever they have been in use.

"When storm overflows are in use, the Environment Agency is sent information about when and for how long. We also notify Surfers Against Sewage and other organisations."