Restrictions preventing beach users from bathing in
the sea, and walking below the high tide line, remain in place today (Monday 11
June).
Officers from Thanet District Council have been
working round the clock, in partnership with Southern Water and the Environment
Agency, in a bid to lift the local bathing ban, with cleansing teams working
relentlessly over the weekend to remove any further debris from the beaches.
The majority of sewage has now been cleared,
however the coastline will continue to be monitored.
Initial tests carried out by the Environment Agency
continue to indicate that the water quality around Thanet’s coast is improving,
however a decision to lift the ban on bathing will not be taken until the
results of all water quality tests carried out are confirmed.
The restrictions will also remain in place until
firm assurances have been provided by Southern Water that all issues with the
sewage pumping station at Foreness Point have been fully resolved.
As part of this, Members and senior officers from
Thanet District Council met with representatives from Southern Water and the
Environment Agency on Friday (8 June) to seek
reassurance that the identified problems could be dealt with as quickly and
efficiently as possible.
Although the public are being advised to stay out
of the sea all beaches and promenades remain open for access and beach
concessions are open for business as usual.
The council’s Director of Operations, Mark Seed, said: “The safety of
beach users is our priority and our work is dedicated to ensuring that no one
has their health or wellbeing compromised.
“By working closely with Southern Water and the Environment Agency, we
hope to draw this matter to a swift conclusion. We’re pleased with the initial
water quality tests, and the hard work of our beach cleaning teams has been
amazing. But the bathing ban remains in
place until we’re totally satisfied that we have no more outstanding concerns.”
Members of the public are advised if they wish to report a pollution
incident to call the Environment Agency 24 hour emergency line on 0800 807060.
No comments:
Post a Comment
Please note comments that may be libellous, comments that may be construed as offensive and anonymous derogatory comments about real people will be deleted. Also note the facility to leave anonymous comment will be turned of during periods when I am unable to monitor comment, this will not affect people commenting who are signed on to their blogger accounts.
Note: only a member of this blog may post a comment.