A surfing group was left “devastated” when it called off a national competition after raw sewage was dumped into the sea off Cornwall.
Competitors were in the water for the English Interclub Surfing Championships in Porthtowan, on the northern coast of the county near Redruth, when lifeguards issued a “red flag” to organisers.
The status – which indicates danger and means people should not enter the water – was triggered after South West Water alerted the local council over a sewage discharge into the sea.
Water companies are permitted to discharge raw sewage into the water in storm overflows, which is typically when the wastewater network fills up due to heavy rainfall – but there are concerns that this happens too often.
The red flag, issued on Sunday, came several hours into the competition, which attracted more than 140 surfers from clubs across the country, said organisers Surfing England.
On social media, the group said: “In response [to the red flag], we immediately called off the contest and asked all surfers to leave the water, as the health and safety of our competitors is paramount.
“We were devastated to end the event early, especially with clean 3 to 5ft waves providing perfect competition conditions, and with such a high standard of surfing on display from the clubs.”
It is the latest episode in a battle surfers on the Cornish coast are facing with sewage in the waters.
Across England last year, there were 8,074 sewage discharges during bathing season, which runs from May until September. In May, surfers across the country took part in a Paddle Out to protest against the ongoing feeding of sewage into the sea.
South West Water has backed a £24m enforcement package to invest in its wastewater network after regulator Ofwat found it had not met obligations in managing its wastewater treatment works.
The failings, Ofwat said, had resulted in the company spilling wastewater to the environment when it should not have done.
A spokesperson for Surfing England said: “This is the exact issue that caused last weekend’s pollution incident, cutting short our National Championships and closing the beach due to another South West Water discharge.”
The group said it, along with partners Clean Water Sports Alliance and Surfers Against Sewage (SAS), will keep up the pressure on water companies to stop the unnecessary spilling of sewage into the sea.
The spokesperson added: “The surf community knows all too well the impact of this mismanagement.”
Of England’s 450 protected bathing spots, 37 were rated as poor – the lowest category – because they contained unsafe levels of potentially deadly bacteria, including E coli and intestinal enterococci, due to sewage spills.
SAS said it received 1,853 sickness reports through its service app in 2024, with 331 people having to see a doctor and 79 per cent reporting that medical professionals had attributed their illness to sewage pollution.
A spokesperson for South West Water told The Independent that the discharge of sewage into the sea near Porthtowan was part of storm overflow activated in line with its permits following heavy rainfall.
They added: “We are serious about tackling storm overflows and change of this scale takes time, ambition, and increased investment. We are working hard to actively reduce our use of storm overflows across the region as part of our £3.2bn investment programme.
“There is more to do and we are moving in the right direction, driven by our determination to deliver on our customers' priorities.”
