Communication matters

Filming on Friday was in Weymouth & Portland. The issue of the day is sewage and what happens to it once we flush.

This involved a group of Dorset green campaigners taking some executives from Wessex Water on a tour of a small section our beautiful Jurassic coastline. However all is not as it should be. Along the coast there are numerous outlets that can offload non-fully treated sewage if the system is overloaded. This happens mostly when it rains a lot. Our combined sewers shouldn’t really be combined - sewage with rainwater. How many hours the overflows happen for is partly monitored and recorded but sewerage overflow is causing bacteria in our water which is potentially harmful for wildlife and swimmers. One outlet (not used but available if needed) was right on the Fleet lagoon SSSI and oyster beds. Water quality is also monitored in the “bathing season” but not all year round when a lot of people do actually still take a swim. Brrhhh. People can and do get very sick from poor quality water. 

So along the way we discussed our poo and what should happen to it. It was very much agreed that it needs to be properly treated. But in order to do so we’ll need to upgrade our systems. Who should pay and should the shareholders of Wessex Water be enjoying a dividend (the green stuff) whilst the brown stuff is still hitting our beaches?

Wessex Water then attended a public meeting on Portland where the problem was debated - a good turn out of concerned local people for a Friday evening.  No answers but communication matters.