Attempt to show public where raw sewage discharges at Exmouth beach fails

A South West Water attempt to show the public where its storm overflow discharges off Maer Rocks using fluorescent dye failed on Wednesday (14 June).

Raw sewage was discharged there for a total of 470 hours in 2022.

No dye appeared, possibly due to a lack of water to flush it through the pipe.

The water company is still "confident" the discharge point is at grid reference SY 0111 7968, however, and said the dye could still be expelled and wanted to reassure the public it is harmless and only temporary.

Storm overflow location at Exmouth beach (Apple Maps)

A South West Water spokesperson said: "On Wednesday 14 June, we carried out a dye test at Maer Rocks in Exmouth following a request from the local community.

"The purpose of the dye test was to confirm the discharge location of our outfall pipe to provide reassurance to the community that our outfall functions as designed. Unfortunately, the test was inconclusive.

"We suspect this was due to lack of available water to flush the dye in the network out through the pipe. We were grateful for the support of the local community during the test and we will explore further options in order to confirm the discharge location."

Most sewers in the UK are 'combined', meaning they take rainwater and sewage.

Storm overflows are designed to prevent flooding on land during heavy rain by discharging into rivers and the sea.