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Pressure on Guernsey to commit to full treatment
by Richard Hardy
30/10/2007:// Surf zombies, sick from polluted water will make a Halloween appearance at the Royal Court House today in a return to confront Guernsey Deputies over a pressing need to commit to a full sewage treatment policy.
The zombies, campaigners from Surfers Against Sewage (SAS) will be urging the States of Guernsey to treat the island to a new tertiary level sewage treatment works or face a new wave of tricks from recreational water users dead-keen on seeing an end to the practice of dumping raw sewage at sea each day.
Photocall: 9am on Wednesday 31st October 2007, outside The Royal Court House, St Peter Port, Guernsey
Surfers Against Sewage (SAS) had previously been left disappointed by the Public Services failure to recommend a future policy of full sewage treatment in the latest Billet D’Etat.
It is highly unsatisfactory that Public Services key recommendation in the short term is to spend what could amount to £16 million pounds in maintaining the status quo. This is the estimated maximum cost of refurbishing the current Belle Greve Wastewater Disposal facility, which still allows for the continued discharge of the island’s sewage raw to sea, as there is no inclusion for higher standards of sewage treatment.
SAS recently described the Public Services approach to this issue as one of ‘fudging’ and this seems to be what we have got from the latest report.
Public Services are recommending a £600,000 Marine Environmental Impact Assessment to be undertaken over a 5-year period to establish the impact of current wastewater discharges. No doubt this will delay any future decision making on whether there is a need to upgrade the level of treatment, but this hasn’t tricked water users as there is already enough scientific evidence to already suggest that discharging ‘raw’ untreated sewage to sea, does increase the health risks for recreational water users and is deemed by many not to be a socially acceptable practice any more.
In reality little has changed in the recommendations being made in this Billet D’Etat than what was included in the previous one issued on 25th January 2006. The last one concluded that an initial EIA be done to monitor the impact of marine discharges and this is again essentially what the States will be asked to decide on at the October meeting.
Richard Hardy, SAS Campaigns Director says: “It’s time for a few Sheriffs to step forward from the ranks of Deputies to commit to a policy of full sewage treatment. If the States agree further delay tactics to avoid the much needed investment it is likely to come back to haunt them as more people tune in but get turned off from visiting the island”.
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