Paddle UK and the Clean Water Sports Alliance welcome the launch of a new National Storm Overflow Map, published by Water UK – the water sector umbrella body.
It means paddlers, swimmers, surfers, will be able to view real-time sewage spills in rivers and seas for the first time.
Paddle UK and our partners have been campaigning for real-time monitoring of sewage overflows.
Ben Seal, Head of Access and Environment at Paddle UK, said:
“The new national map represents a significant step forward.
“However, the Clean Water Sports Alliance believes that Water UK and the wider water sector, must look to develop the platform further to better protect public health.
“The new national map will inform water users whether a sewage overflow is operating or not.
“However, it will not provide any context, volume data or a description of the impact or risk that these discharges will have on public health.”
The launch of the National Storm Overflow Hub (NSOH) marks a significant improvement in increasing transparency and gives a fuller picture of the scale of pollution caused by the water sector.
The creation of the map, which brings together discharge data from across England and Wales, will enable water users and communities reliant on clean water, to understand when pollution is being dumped into their local river or sea.
National Storm Overflow map for England >>
National Storm Overflow map for Wales >>
It will also give the regulators the ability to monitor overflow activity in near real-time, enabling data-driven interventions and enforcement.
In May, water companies released new maps showing near real-time storm discharge activity.
The map will not provide historical data for water users to understand whether pollution is occurring once a day or once a year.
The Clean Water Sports Alliance, alongside our partners, have been calling for better real time data to enable recreational users to make informed choices.
We welcome the increased transparency from the water industry through this new data hub.
We hope that Water UK will continue to work with the Alliance to develop the platform further, to put public health front and centre.
Bathing Waters
Paddlers, swimmers and other recreational users are to be included in new bathing water reforms.
A public consultation into changes to bathing water rules will look at including paddlers for the first time. The biggest change since 2013.