Title 1     |     home Title 1   |   Title 3   |   Title 4   |   9.8.10   |   11.8.10   |   Wantsum Jazz Festival, Monster Bass, Red Arrows Ramsgate   |   Title 8   |   Title 10   |   Title 11   |   Title 12 Title 3 Thanet District Council are very justly proud of its beaches and bays, the recognition these have been given by the award of 9 Blue Flags by Keep Britain Tidy, and the excellent water quality we have around our coast. We are very concerned about the assertions that have been set out by Surfers Against Sewage in relation to Thanet’s beaches as they seem to be based on a blanket approach to this issue with absolutely no understanding of local conditions. The listing of 5 Blue Flag beaches in Thanet appears to be based on an assumption that these are affected by combined sewer outfalls (CSO), but without any actual knowledge of the real position in the area. They seem unaware of the major work undertaken by Southern Water to completely change the management of sewage in Thanet, which amounted to an investment of over £80 million in the last few years. This investment helped to ensure that waste discharges did not affect the water quality around our coast. It included state of the art waste water treatment, as well as the introduction of huge amounts of storage capacity to deal with periods of very heavy rainfall. Added to this is the final discharge point for treated clean water is over 1.9km from Thanet’s coast where the combination of distance, currents and tides make the impact on our coast vanishingly small even if there was a problem. This investment has had a significant impact on the quality of water around Thanet’s coast and has led to us achieving 9 Blue Flags this year. The water around our coast is tested in all the main bays on a weekly basis by the Environment Agency and has an almost uniformly excellent rating. The criteria quoted by the Surfers Against Sewage is based on an assumption that a hazard exists and would lead to action in relation to the Blue Flags. This situation does not occur in Thanet as a result of the problem raised by them about CSO’s and accordingly Thanet fully comply with the requirements of the Blue Flag system run by Keep Britain Tidy. The water quality in the area can be affected slightly during periods of very heavy rainfall because water runs off roads, footways and other surfaces down towards the bays. This does get picked up by the weekly testing of water quality, and the Council do provide advice about this on its beach notice boards. However, this has nothing to do with the issue raised about CSO’s and has nothing to do with sewage. Thanet District Council would wish to assure people that the Blue Flags it has been awarded for its beaches and bays are fully merited and are in no way affected by the scaremongering by Surfers Against Sewage. Our beaches are wonderful and have excellent water quality.