Since an illegal connection was made to the Whitburn stormwater interceptor tunnel in 2015, an unacceptable amount of untreated sewage has been pouring into the North Sea at Whitburn - a protected marine environment. The volumes of discharges of pollution at Whitburn are truly abhorrent:
That's over 3.5 MILLION tonnes of untreated sewage discharged into a protected ecosystem in just 6 years!
This incontrovertible evidence contrasts directly with the Environmental Agency's (EA) claims of the excellent standards of bathing water quality of nearby beaches, Seaburn and Roker…Whitburn beach is not tested.
There is also growing concern among local residents that this illegal connection may not be the only one. There is a growing belief across the community that the tunnel is now being used as a foul sewage collection tank. The tunnel is filled every day (even when no rain falls) with what can only be described as hundreds of tonnes of foul sewage which means that whenever the slightest amount of rain falls, the first flush from the tunnel into sea is made up of relatively undiluted foul sewage, not the stormwater the tunnel was to designed to collect.
Claims that the tunnel is filling with groundwater or other infiltration can be shown to be a myth. In 2017 remedial work was done by Northumbrian Water (NWL) to remove surface water from the Whitburn system and added to this is the fact that the tunnel is a modern sealed construction. The only route for liquids into the tunnel is via either those overflows identified in the permit or via illegal overflow(s).
Such overflows are not permitted by the conditions of the permit which allows discharges into the tunnel only for heavy rainfall or snowmelt. The Whitburn system remains in breach of the Urban Waste Water Treatment Directive. No sanctions have been imposed on NWL for breaking environmental law.
I’ve urgently requested that the EA advertise and consult the public and relevant organisations on the application to vary the permit which would allow untreated wastewater to be discharged into the North Sea at Whitburn. Public consultation is essential as it allows residents and organisations to take part in the EA's decision-making process. The public MUST be consulted about this application to ensure transparency.
Editors note: CAST Planning Group has also submitted an urgent request for public consultation.
Sign the petition here
Check out how much raw sewage is being dumped into our local rivers here
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Read more on the state of our local waterways and coast:
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