SEWAGE has been released across five beaches in Bournemouth, Christchurch, Poole and Sandbanks.

Surfers Against Sewage (SAS) has reported on its interactive map that storm sewage has been discharged from sewer overflows in the past 48 hours.

Sewage pollutions alerts have been raised for Friars Cliff in Christchurch, Christchurch Avon Beach, Hengistbury West in Bournemouth, Kite Beach in Sandbanks and Poole Harbour Rockley Sands.

Storm overflows operate automatically, usually releasing stormwater during or after intense rainfall.

SAS reported earlier this week that sewage had been released at three Bournemouth and Christchurch beaches on Monday, July 10.

READ MORE: Sewage alerts for three Bournemouth and Christchurch beaches

READ MORE: Surfers Against Sewage calls out water companies dumping sewage

Cllr Andy Hadley, Portfolio Holder for Climate Response, Environment and Energy at BCP Council, said: “The problems of raw sewage in our rivers and coastal waters is a national one, consequence of lack of investment over many years by the privatised water companies, and the historic practice of mixing foul sewage with rainwater disposal.

“The discharge from combined sewers is a safety valve, otherwise this would back up in the system and cause foul flooding inside people’s homes, which would be even worse.

“The biggest issue seems to be that using this mechanism has become the norm because of a lack of investment to keep pace with demand.

“Wessex Water are making an investment in the Holdenhurst treatment works to add holding capacity for storm water events.

“Whether this keeps pace with increasing demands, both from more extreme weather events, and additional housing, I’m not certain.

“New properties are not entitled to link rainwater to the foul sewerage system.

“The national regulatory system appears very poor in holding the water companies to account, and ensuring that profits rather than escalating consumer bills are reinvested in the network.”

Cllr Hadley added the importance of residents playing their part in ensuring soakaways and permeable surfaces are used to ensure surface water does not result in flooding.

“We need to look to improve drainage in public spaces, including the use of Sustainable Urban Drainage solutions and planting more trees, which have other benefits to cooling and purifying air in the urban environment.

“We do have a great Flooding and Coastal Erosion Management (FCERM) team at BCP Council who are proactively looking at flooding risk across the area, and advising other councils in the Southwest.

“This includes looking at how we hold rainwater in the landscape, and preparing for predicted future climate change impacts on flooding.”

A Wessex Water spokesperson said: “Storm overflows operated automatically following heavy rainfall, releasing predominantly rainwater after sewers had become overwhelmed.

“Although overflows are licensed by the Environment Agency to protect properties from flooding, we’re committed to reducing how often they operate and are investing more than £3 million every month on schemes to improve them.”