Southern Water has vowed, over the next ten years, to reduce the number of combined sewage overflows (CSOs) by 80 per cent.
Combined sewage overflows (CSOs) are when waste water from houses and industry – including human waste – are allowed, by Southern Water, to flow into the sea.
A frequent occurence
You can see from Southern Water’s own Beach Buoy service quite how frequently this happens around the Isle of Wight.
At initial glance, Southern Water’s pledge seemed hopeful, but it’s always the detail that helps reveal if claims are just positive sounding words, or are actually good actions.
Failed to provide an answer
Given this News OnTheWight got in touch with the company to ask whether the pledge to reduce the number of wastewater discharges in the Solent applied to discharges around the entire Isle of Wight coast, or just in the Solent, ie just the north shore of the Island.
Despite chasing up the answer to our very simple question several times, Southern Water have failed to provide an answer in over a month. Readers will have to draw their own conclusions from this.
Record fine
Earlier this year Southern Water was fined a record £90m for deliberately dumping raw sewage into the sea.
Between 2010 and 2015 the company admitted 6,971 illegal spills from 17 sites in Hampshire, Kent and West Sussex.
