BRITS are being warned not to swim at more than 50 beaches across the south of the UK following the heavy rainfall yesterday.
Storms dumped a month’s worth of rain on the UK in a day yesterday, leading to a number of flood alerts.
But with a mini heatwave predicted this week with highs of 20C, families may be planning to head to the beach.
However, the rainfall has led to sewage discharge into a number of beaches, with Surfers Against Sewage issuing a warning to avoid the water.
Sewage overflows often happen after heavy rainfall, which leads to the system being overwhelmed and forced to release untreated water to avoid waste backing up.
They state at a number of beaches: “Storm sewage has been discharged from a sewer overflow in this location within the past 48 hours.”
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The south of the UK has been hit the most, with more than 50 beaches warned against swimming in.
Popular beaches on the warning list include:
The majority of the beaches near Portsmouth and on the Isle of Wight warn of sewage discharge – you can see the full list affected here.
Anyone who swims in polluted water can fall ill if they digest the water, as well as suffer from skin infections.
Surfers Against Sewage publishes the shocking interactive map which tracks real-time sewage overflows and pollution risk forecasts.
It monitors the water quality at over 400 locations around UK rivers and coastlines.
The marine conservation charity has spent years urging politicians to introduce a legal duty on water companies to stop discharging raw sewage into rivers and the ocean.
Last year, Southern Water was fined a record £90 million for deliberately pumping 16 to 21 billion litres of sewage into the sea between 2010 and 2015.
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If you want a cleaner beach, here are the best 10 beaches in Europe.
And Blue Flag beaches are known for their cleanliness – here are all of them in England.
