Residents fear one of Britain’s most beautiful seaside towns is being destroyed by sewage being dumped into the sea.
Earlier this year, Whistable in Kent made The Telegraph’s list of top towns, scoring an impressive 87/100 and finishing third.
It’s also a favorite spot of former adult actress Mia Khalifa, who regularly visits the UK. She has stayed there several times in recent years and once posted on social media: “Whitstable > Miami.”
READ MORE: Mia Khalifa Reveals ‘Top 10 Things She Hates’ – It’s Bad News for Vegans and Europe
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Anyone who has visited knows why this picturesque town is so popular. However, residents fear it is now under threat due to large amounts of wastewater being discharged into the sea by Southern Water.
Protesters will gather in the city on Saturday (September 23) to draw attention to pollution levels. Among them will be singer Fergal Sharkey and comic actor Paul Whitehouse, Express.co.uk reports.
SOS Whitstable member Ed Ectheson told Express.co.uk: “We (SOS Whitstable) are extremely concerned about the impact of the ongoing sewage pollution crisis on our city. This is extremely harmful to the environment, poses a significant risk to public health and damages the reputation of Whitstable and our local businesses.
“We welcome Southern Water’s promises of further investment in infrastructure but do not feel they have gone far enough or fast enough to this point.
“In 2022, Whitstable experienced the highest number of storm spills in Kent and lasted a total of 648 hours. We have already seen 595 hours of wastewater this year and with three months to go we are concerned about how much that number will increase.”
Whitstable is one of Southern Water’s six project areas where it is seeking solutions to the problem of flash flooding, with a number of activities underway aimed at reducing flooding by 20% by 2025.
Storm overflows are designed to release excess water through drains into rivers and seas when heavy rainfall puts pressure on sewer networks, creating the risk of flooding. They act as safety valves when the sewer system is in danger of becoming overloaded.
John Yates, Southern Water Pathfinder delivery manager in Kent, said: “Tackling stormwater runoff is our top priority and I can assure everyone in Whitstable that we are fully focused on using all the tools at our disposal to ensure a significant reduction in stormwater runoff. spills.
“We do this by working with partners and creating natural and engineered solutions. But this work will take time and our goal is to find what works and then spread it across the region so we can see positive results.”
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