A grey seal and a cormorant are seen investigating the murky water as sewage is emptied into the sea off Fistral beach, Cornwall.

Footage from September 20 shows a section of water below a cliff turning a muddy brown colour as sewage was emptied.

According to the filmer, South West Water, the local water and sewage company, discharges sewage and rainwater from a storm drain near a surfing hotspot.

"Although this storm discharge point empties into the marine conservation zone of the gazzle such activity remains legal," said the filmer.

On September 15, High Court dismissed Marine Conservation Group's (MCG) case against the UK government "to address the deluge of raw sewage being dumped into English seas".

MSG's CEO Sandy Luk, said of the ruling: “While we didn’t get the result we wanted today, we will not be disheartened. By challenging the UK Government on its failure to address the impact of untreated sewage discharges into our coastal waters and estuaries, we’ve been able to make great progress, pushing for our ocean to be protected".

In April 2023, South West Water was fined £2.15m for illegally dumping sewage into rivers and the sea in Devon and Cornwall.

South West Water company discharges sewage and rainwater from a storm drain situated adjacent to the UK's premier surfing Fistral beach. The outlet situated on Towan head is observed discharging from 07:30 to 12:00 and beyond on the 20th September 2023. A Grey seal is seen investigating the cloudy water discharge along with a European diving bird of the Cormorant family. Although this storm discharge point empties into the marine conservation zone of the Gazzle such activity remains legal. The discharge was notified to the Environment Agency and made public online. On the 15th September 2023 the Marine Conservation Group lost a case in the high court against the UK govt addressing such discharges into the sea and estuarine zones. As a result of the case, the UK Government’s Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) launched a public consultation, seeking views and input on expanding its sewage plan (Storm Overflows Discharge Reduction Plan) to cover English coastal and estuarine waters, a crucial addition initially overlooked.




What happens now?

Dr Laura Foster, Head of Clean Seas, said: “Our expectations of the UK Government are clear: our seas must be fully protected from sewage pollution, with no exception. The launch of the consultation was a step in the right direction. Now, we wait for the Government’s response to this, and we expect them to act to protect our seas from sewage pollution for the benefit of nature, people, and our planet.”

What does the future hold? For now, our focus remains on the consultation response—specifically on advocating for the inclusion of all English coastal waters and estuaries. We’re determined to address Combined Sewer Overflows (CSOs) and other spills that are polluting our seas.This afternoon, Friday 15th September, the High Court dismissed our case against the UK Government to address the deluge of raw sewage being dumped into English seas.

Our CEO, Sandy Luk, said of the ruling: “While we didn’t get the result we wanted today, we will not be disheartened. By challenging the UK Government on its failure to address the impact of untreated sewage discharges into our coastal waters and estuaries, we’ve been able to make great progress, pushing for our ocean to be protected".

As long as raw sewage continues to pour into our seas, affecting wildlife, habitats and all life that depends on it, we will keep doing everything possible to stop it.
Sandy Luk, CEO
The case would not have been possible without the Good Law Project, who funded the case and brought us together with co-claimants Richard Haward’s Oysters, and Hugo Tagholm.

Storm overflow discharges rain water and raw sewage as seals and sea birds share the environment . Towan head, Newquay, Cornwall UK.