More untreated sewage is being pumped into our seas and rivers than ever before. And anger at fat cat bosses and toothless regulators is running deep. Frankie Adkins meets the people determined to make waves
With the summer coming to an end, Caitlin Edwards hoped to maximise time with her mother, Jayne Etherington, before returning to university. Feeling lucky to live near some of the most spectacular beaches in Pembrokeshire, the pair decided to brave a dip in the sea together every day – no matter the weather. But when the 22-year-old fastened her goggles one August morning, she had no idea that a short swim on her beloved Welsh coastline would be the beginning of a month-long ordeal that would see her hospitalised with a life-threatening infection. Five days after experiencing severe stomach cramps and diarrhoea, Edwards checked into A&E, where she was told E coli had led to haemolytic uraemic syndrome, a rare condition damaging her kidneys. After a succession of blood transfusions and dialysis, she was able to leave hospital three weeks later, but she was left wondering: “How can this happen to a healthy 22-year-old?”
Public Health Wales concluded that the most likely cause was untreated sewage – harmful bacteria from contaminated water had passed into her intestine. As it turns out, Etherington had missed public health alerts that sewage was spewing on to four Welsh beaches, including the one she chose for a carefree swim shortly before. After the incident a spokesperson for Welsh Water said of combined storm overflows (CSOs) – which are valves that release sewage in heavy rainfall – “This is what they are designed to do when the wastewater network in an area reaches capacity due to the volume of rainwater, in it to prevent sewers from flooding customers’ homes and businesses. While we cannot completely remove CSOs from our system, as it would cost anywhere between £9 and £14bn and involve digging up almost every street in Wales, our CSOs are mainly operating as designed and permitted. However, we recognise that with environmental legislation tightening and customer expectations changing, more needs to be done to improve their performance.”
