Blackpool Council has warned against paddling and swimming at eight Lancashire beaches as 'appalling' sewage problems continues to affect Lancashire's coastline.
Swimmers have been warned not to go in the sea along the Blackpool coast after vomit-inducing E.Coli was found in the water. The temperature is set to top 24C this weekend but anyone wanting to take a dip will have to go elsewhere.
After the Environment Agency warned swimmers not to go in the sea after a sewage leak, United Utilities, which runs the site, said the incident occurred on June 13 when 40mm of rain fell in two hours as engineers were repairing a burst pipe.
READ MORE: Map shows all the beaches you should avoid as sewage gets dumped into water
As a result, runoff water mixed with human waste was deposited in the sea. Mark Garth, the director of water waste treatment at the firm, said for the first two days the system was able to manage dry-weather flows.
But the pipe discharged into the sea after "really intense storms" on June 12.
Speaking to BBC Radio 4's Today programme, he insisted the clean-up operation was near completion. He said a 1.2 mile bypass pipe had been constructed and engineers would be working over the next 48 hours to "push the plant back to capacity".
About 100 tankers a day have been used to take sewage away from sites in the area. He told listeners: “The number of people, number of experts and equipment involved are something that's never been seen before We're very close. We're about 95% complete."
Lynn Williams, the leader of Blackpool Council, has described the situation as "appalling". During her appearance on BBC Radio 4, Councillor Williams called the issue "incredibly disappointing and really worrying", in response to presenter Nick Robinson's comment that the incident "could not be much more serious for Blackpool". Coun Williams added, "We're just at the start of our summer season with some glorious weather and we're faced with having to put out advisory notices telling people not to go into the sea because of the discharges of sewage. It's appalling."
Activist group Surfers Against Sewage were among the first to raise concerns on June 14 after their tests revealed E. coli was present in the water. The bug’s symptoms include diarrhoea, stomach cramps and occasionally fever, with a small number of people going on to get more serious and complex conditions.
More than a week on from the sewage spill, the Environment Agency’s "no swim" advisory remains in place all along Blackpool’s seven-mile seafront.
A spokesperson from the Agency said: “While bathing is currently advised against, the beaches along the Fylde Coast remain open. We are continuing to regularly monitor water quality along the coast to help inform decisions about when the current advice against swimming can be removed.
“Polluting our seas and rivers is unacceptable and we are carrying out a detailed investigation into this incident along the Fylde Coast.”
United Utilities was responsible for around a fifth of all sewage spills into English waters last year, accounting for around 69,000 spills, Environment Agency data shows. The company says it has the largest combined sewer network in the country and 28 per cent more rainfall than the UK average.
It comes after Thames Water admitted its leakage rates from water pipes are the highest in five years and is unlikely to meet its leak plugging targets this year.
An earlier version of this article said that the beaches had been declared off limits. This has now been amended to make clear that the concern is not about the beaches but about paddling and swimming.
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