SEWAGE discharges in the South East Cornwall parliamentary constituency were among the top 20 worst discharges in the country during 2022.

Data released by the campaign group ‘Top of the Poops’, supported by Surfers Against Sewage has revealed that the South East Cornwall area was the 14th most polluted constituency in the country.

According to the data, it was polluted by sewage into the waterways by South West Water 3,614 times in 2022, with the discharges lasting a combined 27,591 hours, equivalent to 3.19 years or 9.9 times a day across 82 different sites.

Meanwhile, the neighbouring parliamentary constituency of North Cornwall, is also featured in the 20 most polluted areas in the country, ranking 15th in the listings.

It was reported that there were 60 sites polluted in this area during 2022, with 2,846 separate sewage discharge incidents lasting a cumulative total of 24,526 hours, equivalent to 2.84 years or an average of 7.8 times a day.

South West Water has pledged to reduce the use of storm overflows and admits there is more to do.

In South East Cornwall, the Metherell WWTW (Waste Water Treatment Works) saw the most sewage discharges into the area’s waterways, with 126 sewage dumps lasting a total of 2,502 hours into the River Tamar waterway.

This was followed by the Golberdon STW, discharging 139 times for a duration of 1,676 hours into the River Lynher and the Chilsworthy wastewater treatment works, which also saw 139 sewage discharges across 2022 for a duration of 1,670 hours.

The River Tamar was one of the most polluted rivers by South West Water, with 15,546 hours of sewage discharge, equivalent to 1.8 years across 1,523 incidents. This equates to an average of 4.2 discharges a day.

In North Cornwall, which was the 15th worst affected constituency, the River Inny, Penpont Water, and River Allen waterways were the three worst affected by sewage.

At the ‘Beals Mill No 2 CSO’, it was reported that there were 293 sewage dumps during 2022, lasting a duration of 3,937 hours.

The Altarnun STW (Storm Tank) also featured in the top three worst affected areas, with 160 sewage dumps into the Penpont Water waterway lasting a duration of 2,352 hours while at the Delabole Wastewater Treatment Works, there were a reported 206 discharges, lasting a total of 2,278 hours.

Beaches in the South East didn’t go unaffected, either.

At Readymoney Cove, in Fowey, there was a total of 824.2 hours of sewage discharge into the sea. This was paled into insignificance with East Looe Beach, where there were 1,528.62 hours of sewage discharge and 1,867.73 hours at Seaton Beach.

Meanwhile, there were also 39.4 hours of discharge at Millendreath Beach, 69.51 hours of sewage spills at Downderry Beach, and 62.48 hours at Portwrinkle Beach.

In response to the data by ‘Top of the Poops’ and Surfers Against Sewage, South West Water said the South West had some of the best bathing waters in Europe, recently achieving 100% coastal bathing water quality for the second time across 860 miles of coastline, with 99% rated as good, or excellent, compared to just 28% in 1991.

However, the firm’s Chief Operating Officer, John Halsall, admitted there is more the company needed to do. He said: “We are reducing the use of storm overflows and our plan is working but there is more to do. We want everyone to feel confident about the water quality at their favourite beaches and to know that we are serious about reducing the use of storm overflows. The beaches in the South West belong to those who live in the region and are loved by those who visit. We need to stop the overuse of storm overflows. Sharing better data with the public is the right thing to do and that’s why we’ve installed 100% monitoring on our storm overflows, ahead of target.

“Last month, we launched WaterFit Live, ahead of this year’s bathing season. Customers and visitors can go online to find out more and through Your Beach, Your Say, Our Investment, help shape where we invest next.”