Campaigners in Thanet will be among thousands across the country paddling out in protest against sewage pollution on Saturday 17 May.
Protesters at more than 40 UK locations will be calling for total reform of the water industry in England and Wales, and clearer monitoring and transparency of the sewage crisis in Scotland and Northern Ireland.
Protestors say untreated sewage was discharged more than once a minute, on average, across the UK last year.
The Paddle-Out Protests are taking place as the official bathing season in England and Wales – which runs from 15 May to 30 September- begins, with the public flocking to the UK’s blue spaces to enjoy the water in the summer months.
Co-ordinated by environmental charity Surfers Against Sewage (SAS), the protests are calling for transformational reform of the broken water industry, as sewage pollution remains a threat to the UK’s blue spaces and public health.
The Thanet paddle out takes place at Viking Bay with participants urged to meet at the newer information kiosk near the lift down to the beach at 2.30 pm ( ///ranged.cross.from – what3words link).
The community band, Samba Ya Wantsum , will play as the group walk down Harbour Street and onto the beach.
Mayor of Broadstairs, Mike Garner, will give a welcome speech. There will also be a safety briefing.
Broadstairs Sailing Club is also running a training day so novice sailors will be out, learning to sail dinghies. Paddle out organiser Fi O’Connor has liaised with the club and will be in radio contact. Protestors entering the water will be at the southern end of Viking Bay beach only.
Some 117 people have responded to the event on social media and around 50 protestors are expected to enter the water, with more protesting on the beach.
Fi says Water Southern Water discharged sewerage outfalls 29,355 times in 2024, with 4,832 spills into designated bathing waters.
She adds: “Local businesses have been adversely affected by beach closures, as they rely on footfall. Mike Bridges, chairman of the Broadstairs Tourism and Leisure Association, said that our town’s reputation has been ‘tarnished’ by Southern Water’s pollution of our bathing waters. All the Broadstairs businesses to whom I spoke are supporting tomorrow’s protest.”
SAS has developed a free mobile app, the Safer Seas & Rivers Service, which provides real-time pollution alert for over 450 locations across the UK, helping protect water users from sewage pollution.
Giles Bristow, CEO at Surfers Against Sewage said: “The people paddling out at Viking Bay are part of a groundswell of Ocean Activists across the UK, letting the water companies, government and Independent Water Commission know, loud and clear, that we will not settle for yet another year of risking our health to swim in the sea.”
“People should be free to use the water without fear of getting sick, and that’s why we developed the Safer Seas & Rivers Service, a free app that provides real-time pollution alerts, giving peace of mind for those worried about sewage pollution.”
The protests are taking place as the Independent Water Commission reviews its evidence before making recommendations to Government on reforming the water industry in England and Wales.
Giles Bristow added: “We have shown that people power brings about change: we campaigned hard for an Independent Water Commission, and now it must deliver what the public demands. If the government settles for the status quo, history will keep repeating itself and we will never end sewage pollution.”
Following the nationwide Paddle Out Protests, SAS is urging people to email their MP calling for transformational reform of the water industry in England and Wales, and increased transparency and monitoring of water quality in Scotland and Northern Ireland.
The campaign webpage for the public to email their MP can be found here
Southern Water says that in Thanet, since 2020 it has invested more than £28 million in wastewater sites – including a significant pump replacement project for Margate and Broadstairs, repairs to the major sewer between Margate and Weatherlees, and a Thanet-wide sewer upgrade scheme.
the very thought of entering the sea around thanet makes me feel sick , i dread to think what diseases are in that water , and of course the diseases brought here by the visitors from abroad
I look forward to starting to swim in the sea at Ramsgate again next month!