A WATER firm has urged people to make their own “educated decisions about swimming in the sea” amid reports of sewage being discharged in the water near Southend’s beaches.

Campaign group Surfers Against Sewage (SAS) is advising people to stay out of the water at Shoebury Common, Thorpe and Jubilee beaches due to a recent sewage spill.

It issued an alert via its interactive online map and smartphone app after being made aware of the problem by an automated system run by Anglian Water.

In response to the warning, an Anglian Water spokesman said the system was triggered because storm overflows in Southend, designed to protect homes and businesses, discharged following heavy rainfall on Tuesday.

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He said: “As it’s been dry for so long intense rainfall on to hard ground will not soak in, and instead runs straight off.

“Any CSO discharges will have been predominantly rainwater, our BeachAware system notified the Surfers Against Sewage Safer Seas service as a precaution, so people can make educated decisions about swimming in the sea.

“However, we recognise that they are no longer the right solution when sewers become overloaded with rainwater.

“We’ve been dealing with CSOs for years, tackling those which pose an environmental risk, and working through the rest.

“Between 2020 and 2025, we’re re investing more than £200 million to reduce storm spills across the East of England and as part of our Get River Positive commitment we’ve promised that storm overflows will not be the reason for unhealthy rivers in our region by 2030.”

Southend Council says it has not put any warning signs in place at the affected beaches and has played down the risk to the public.

Martin Terry, councillor responsible for public protection, said: “The council works closely with both the Environment Agency and Anglian Water to ensure our beaches’ bathing water is of a safe standard for our residents and visitors.

“Anglian Water, as the sewage company for our area, is responsible for monitoring their sewage systems for any potential overflow, and all alerts are subject to follow up enquires and investigation. If any of our beaches’ bathing waters were not safe to use, we would always alert residents by putting signage in place and sharing updates on our website and social media channels.”

Link to councillors fury around "unsafe" water: www.echo-news.co.uk/news/20669006.concerns-around-dangerous-sewage-levels-southend/