A 'do not enter the water' warning has been issued for Cowes and East Cowes after sewage was discharged into the sea off the Isle of Wight in the early hours of this morning.
A power failure at Southern Water’s (SW) Cowes High Street pumping station, between 2.19am and 3.55am, is believed to have led to the pollution incident.
Newly-elected IW councillor for Cowes North, Jock Rafferty, said sewage was discharged into the sea for around an hour and a half.
SW said while the unplanned outage did last for that length of time, the release was for three minutes, but it is 'sorry for concern caused'.
It is thought the latest incident is separate to the burst main on Millfield Road in East Cowes last week, which left residents with sewage in their gardens and prompted further bathing warnings.
Read more:
This morning's discharge has led to the Environment Agency advising against bathing off Cowes and East Cowes.
Cllr Rafferty said: "Please avoid entering the water until further notice, particularly children, swimmers, paddleboarders and anyone involved in water sports.
"Signage is being put in place and further updates are expected after tidal cycles and testing results are reviewed."
Meanwhile, East Cowes's IW councillor, Karl Love said he believes 'something is seriously wrong' with the network.
"We have had five significant failures in East Cowes in recent months and now this one over in Cowes", he said.
"I am aware that significant sections in East Cowes ought to be replaced of this pipeline and it is a pipeline that was only placed about 25 years ago.
"Surely when we replace piping, we expected to list more than 25 years?"
IW West MP Richard Quigley posted on Facebook to say he was writing to Southern Water to ask "what the hell are you doing about it?"
A Southern Water spokesperson said: “We experienced an unplanned mains power outage at the Cowes High Street pumping station overnight.
“Our teams responded immediately, deploying tankers and generators, and power was restored in just over an hour and a half.
"The Environment Agency was notified straight away, and the discharge was permitted under emergency conditions due to loss of power.
“We have taken additional water samples, with results pending. We’re sorry for any concern caused by this incident.”
Share