Waste water releases authorised in Bognor Regis just weeks after Southern Water missed pollution targets

The releases took place across a number of outlets in the area, including Aldwick, Bognor Regis East, Pagham, Felpham and Middleton.

The first releases took place at 5.43am in Felpham, which was followed by subsequent releases in Aldwick, Pagham and Bognor Regis East. All of these releases lasted just over half an hour.

At 6.17am, several more substantial releases were authorised in Felpham, Middleton, Aldwick and Bognor Regis East. Each release lasted for just under three hours.

A final batch of sewage releases was authorised at 6am across three more bathing sites in Aldwick, Bognor Regis East and Pagham – each one lasting three hours.

Southern Water’s beachbuoy app provides real-time updates on sewage releases across the coast. A spokesperson said: “Rain can overwhelm the combined sewer and drainage system which exists in many parts of our region. To protect homes, schools and businesses from flooding, storm overflows act as a release value and release excess water into the sea. These discharges are heavily diluted, typically being 95 per cent rainwater. There are around 15,000 storm overflows in England and approximately 1,000 in our region.”

The water company insists that sewage releases protect coastal communities from flooding and have committed to reducing their reliance on the system over the next ten years.

Even so, today’s releases come weeks after Southern Water were forced to cut £28 million from consumers’ bills after water regulator Ofwat said they missed pollution targets, and just over a year after they were fined a record £90 million for illegally discharging sewage into the sea.

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