In a statement, Cherilyn said: “I was shocked and saddened by the scenes at Trevaunance Cove in St Agnes over the weekend which appeared to look like a sewage overflow discharge.
It is clear that an overflow incident took place, but over the last few days it has been difficult to find out the truth about what caused the dreadful discolouring off this beautiful part of our coast.
This week, I have worked tirelessly with the Environment Agency, the Government, and South West Water to determine exactly what caused this issue. This included urgent meetings with Environment Ministers.
I have now been assured by South West Water that testing has shown the cause of the discolouration was muddy water in the stream, consisting of rainwater and agricultural run-off, which is piped onto the beach.
These types of spills are still damaging, and action must be taken to ensure these events do not continue to happen.
What is also clear is that stakeholders, decision-makers and the general public need prompt and clear results when incidents like these happen. We need to have confidence that agencies are working in an effective and timely manner to address overflow incidents and report back on the facts. On this occasion, this did not happen, and I have today raised this issue directly with the Prime Minister in parliament.
The Prime Minister assured me that the Government takes this issue seriously and agreed that if the landmark Storm Overflows Discharge Reduction Plan does not sort this out, more action will be taken. I look forward to continuing to press Ministers to ensure we continue to go further than any previous government to crack down on damaging spills in our rivers and seas.
In the coming days and months, I will continue to press South West Water on what extra steps they can take to prevent these incidents in the future.
Commenting, South West Water said:
“Our teams have been at St Agnes over the last two days to investigate the reports of discolouration in the Trevaunance Stream leading to the beach. Following our investigation, we can confirm that the discolouration of the water is being caused by flows of muddy surface water into the stream from the wider catchment, which is piped onto the beach, as has been seen on social media. The stream, above our storm overflows, was also brown in colour, as a result of mud being washed off nearby agricultural land, following the recent heavy rainfall.
“While there has been limited storm overflow activity in the area due to heavy rain, our investigation is clear that the cause of the discolouration is muddy water in the stream, consisting of rainwater and agricultural run-off. We have taken water quality samples on the day of the initial report and the following day at St Agnes, and the bathing water has met its normal, excellent quality.
“We are absolutely committed to protecting and enhancing the natural environment, including our bathing waters across the region. As part of that, we continue to increase investment in the region’s infrastructure to bring down the use of storm overflows, as part of WaterFit.”