South West Water to show public where raw sewage is discharged at Exmouth

South West Water will use bright yellow dye to show the public where its storm overflow outfall off Maer Rocks is on Wednesday (14 June).

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

The quality of the bathing water at Exmouth has been classified by the Environment Agency as 'excellent' since 2016, however, after weekly tests between May and September each year. Data obtained by Nub News shows most discharges happened outside this period in 2019-2021.

The location of the storm overflow outfall is already known to be at grid reference SY 0111 7968, but it is not visible as it is underwater.

The test will begin at 8.30am but it may take some time for the dye to move through the network.

The tracer dye is reportedly "harmless to water quality and wildlife", but can show on any swimmers or animals that come into contact with it.

A South West Water spokesperson said: "The work follows a request from the local community for us to confirm the location of the discharge point from our outfall pipe.

"As a result, customers may notice some yellow/green discolouration to the sea near Maer Rocks on Wednesday morning.

"We would like to reassure local residents and visitors that the dye is harmless and other than a temporary colouring, will not affect bathing water quality or the wider ecology of the beach or Exe estuary."

Mayor of Exmouth Olly Davey said: "This will go a long way to reassure the local community and help with understanding the issues involved.

"We will also be pushing for the alert system to be clarified and possibly simplified as there is much confusion over when a discharge actually takes place."

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.