“My business has vanished overnight,” he says. “On coronation weekend, the red flags went up warning people not to go in the water because of poor water quality, and now there are signs at every access point to the beach saying ‘No swimming.’ ”
Poor water quality linked to pollution has been a problem here for many years. But this is the first time Crawford has had to completely shut up shop.
“Most days I can’t face coming down here,” he says. “ I’ve run the shop for 17 years. Right now, I should be sitting outside, drinking coffee and chatting to people about surfing. But it’s all gone. My livelihood has evaporated.”
In a place like Scarborough, summer really matters: this is when the town comes alive . But here and across Britain, just as the beaches should be filling up, sewage and pollution are shutting them down.
The figures are alarming. Between 15 May and 30 September last year, sewage was dumped into designated bathing waters more than 5,000 times . Every single day in 2022 saw an average of 82 4 sewage spills into England’s waterways . In the north-west, United Utilities discharged untreated sewage almost 70,000 times last year, while Severn Trent Water discharged sewage through storm overflows 44,765 times . In just a single eight-day stretch, Southern Water dumped more than 3,700 hours’ worth of sewage at 83 bathing-water beaches .
The country’s most popular beach destinations have been suffering. Last week eight beaches on the Fylde coast – including the famous Blackpool Central – were closed to the public after a storm led to a massive sewage discharge by United Utilities.
هذه القصة مأخوذة من طبعة June 19, 2023 من The Guardian.
ابدأ النسخة التجريبية المجانية من Magzter GOLD لمدة 7 أيام للوصول إلى آلاف القصص المتميزة المنسقة وأكثر من 9,000 مجلة وصحيفة.
بالفعل مشترك ? تسجيل الدخول
هذه القصة مأخوذة من طبعة June 19, 2023 من The Guardian.
ابدأ النسخة التجريبية المجانية من Magzter GOLD لمدة 7 أيام للوصول إلى آلاف القصص المتميزة المنسقة وأكثر من 9,000 مجلة وصحيفة.
بالفعل مشترك? تسجيل الدخول
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