Brighton: Beach protest by Surfers Against Sewage over Southern Water

The group from Surfers Against Sewage flooded Brighton beach with boards as part of the protest against water companies such as Southern Water.

With Brighton as the hub for a national day of action, protesters said they were “furious” with water companies for the sewage discharges and called for the practice to end.

Stu Davis, Brighton regional rep for Surfers against Sewage, said: “The protest has gone brilliantly. This shows how much people in Brighton and beyond feel about this.

Many protesters wore gas masks to the protest (Image: PA)

“The message we are sending is quite clear: we want Southern Water to end sewage discharges by 2030.

“Currently their actions feel a bit too little too late. We want to see a curb to these discharges and the government need to put in place strong regulations.”

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Other protesters stayed on the beach holding placards as well as unveiling a large blue plaque similar to others presented at other protests in Sussex.

The protest comes after Southern Water have faced criticism for dumping raw sewage into waterways in Sussex.

Protesters also brought placards and signs to call out Southern Water (Image: Andrew Gardner | The Argus)

The water company also denied responsibility for Brighton beach losing its Blue Flag status after the quality of the water near the Palace Pier was downgraded in November, 2022.

Southern claimed that no storm overflow releases would have affected bathing waters in Brighton.

many signs referenced the pumping of raw sewage into Sussex waterways (Image: PA)

In response, to the protest, Nick Mills, head of Southern Water’s clean rivers and seas task force, said: “We have already made significant investment in Brighton and have made a major reduction in spills as a result of our seven-mile super sewer lying under the chalk cliffs of Brighton which transfers waste and storm water to our new Peacehaven treatment works, one of the largest and most modern wastewater treatment works in Europe.

“This massive infrastructure project ensures that the 95 million litres of wastewater on average per day generated from Brighton and the surrounding areas is fully treated.”