5 Island locations have been listed among the 10 worst in the UK for Combined Sewers Overflows (CSO), new data has confirmed.
Throughout 2022 a total of 1,579 spills were deposited into the sea on the Island with almost 33% of those (562) in Cowes alone.
Also on the list were Sandown (290), Ryde (261), Gurnard (240) and Yaverland (226).
The data – which was collated by the water quality campaign group SOS Whitstable – also showed that at least 5,200 hours worth of sewage was released across the Island at Cowes, Ryde and Sandown during last year.
Staggeringly, around 46% (10,897 hours) of all sewage was dispatched from the Island, with that total more than Kent and Sussex combined.
A Southern Water spokesperson has told Island Echo:
“Increased rainfall can put extra pressure on our sewer network when large volumes of surface water enter the system. To protect homes, schools and businesses from flooding, storm overflows provide a release valve to allow excess flows to enter the environment. These releases contain up to 95% rainwater.
“However, we know that this is not an acceptable system moving forwards, and as part of £2bn of investment in our network between 2020 and 2025, we are working hard to reduce our reliance of storm overflows. We are doing this through a combination of innovative engineering and nature-based solutions, supported by close partnership working and an emphasis on slowing the flow of rainfall into our sewers. Our recently published annual bathing water update details how we are working to create healthier rivers and seas.”
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Southern Water says it will also work on its pathfinder projects that aim to cut the number of storm releases, with it hoped that these projects will benefit various areas on the Isle of Wight including Gurnard, Freshwater, Yarmouth, Bembridge, Seaview, Fishbourne and Wootton.
I blame the Tories I do
Well done Southern Water, maybe they need a new moto, how about we take the piss but dump the crap
What a bunch of S#!theads!
When are we going to do something about this??
time to start withholding the wastewater portion of our water bill, after all, we are paying for a service not received
I refused to not pay my last wastewater bill after, the amount of wastewater dumped in R .Medina. serious lack of fish..
So perhaps we should stop building houses on the Island until the infrastucture can cope. No chance of the sewage system improving anytime soon, because the major shareholder is only interested in taking money out of the company and loading it up with debt, much as it did with Thames Water. Southern Water, lies and empty promises, full of sh*t.
But I thought the Tories fixed this last year!
Doesn’t help when our MP votes to allow sewage to be spewed into the sea
And they still keep passing planning permision for even more houses etc, obviously the system can’t cope with what we already have!
Brown envelopes