Advice against bathing for Plymouth Hoe West and East

What has happened?

Following pollution reports at the start of October, we identified a number of issues at South West Water’s Plymouth Central Waste Water Treatment Works (WWTW), including an unpermitted sewage discharge.

South West Water has been unable to resolve the operational issues on site resulting in intermittent unpermitted discharges from the storm overflow. As a result we have been issuing advice against bathing for Plymouth Hoe West and Plymouth Hoe East.

What are we doing?

We are pressing South West Water at the highest levels to identify and implement an urgent solution to the problems on site. Our Area Water Industry Team have been on site continuing to investigate the issues and are pursuing further regulatory actions.

South West Water have not yet provided a timeframe for when problems will be resolved. We will use SWIMFO to inform the public of bathing water advice. As we enter the winter season, we anticipate we will see continued unpermitted spills of this nature until SWW have fixed the issue.

What can you do?

Check SWIMFO for the latest information about bathing water quality: Bathing water quality

Report a water pollution incident to the Environment Agency here: Report water pollution in England - GOV.UK