Rivers and seas are the arteries and lifeblood of the planet, transporting the water and nutrients needed to sustain thriving ecosystems – including human life!
Yet, we’ve allowed our lifeline of existence to be exploited. Our precious blue spaces are being contaminated with sewage, agricultural and chemical pollutants, and in turn, humans are getting sick too. If you’ve spent any time in the water, you’ll know of the benefits we can gain from spending time in nature. As humans, we instinctively know that being close to water makes us happier, healthier, more peaceful and less stressed.
Sickness Stories Today
Today, there are approximately 17 million water users across the UK, and these numbers are rapidly rising along with the increased knowledge and awareness of the mental and physical benefits of spending time in blue spaces. But what’s far less known is the impact of when these blue space benefits are stripped away from us as a result of sewage pollution.
In the past four years 4,920 sickness reports have been submitted to us through our Safer Seas and River Service (SSRS) to delve into the striking impact sewage pollution is having on people’s health and wellbeing all across the UK.
Why Do We Collect Sickness Reports?
We collect data when people get sick from entering the water and summarise this to create a clear picture of when and where people are getting sick. The more reports we get, the better we can learn about the impact of poor water quality on bathers. People’s lives and livelihoods are being severely impacted by the torrents of sewage entering the UK’s waterways, with some people now living with debilitating conditions as a result of the sickness. It’s not just humans getting sick, but animals too!
Not only is the health of water users being impacted, but the sewage scandal also poses threats to the economy! UK marine recreation has an estimated gross value total of £1.29 billion, making the marine environment a vital asset to the UK economy. However, recreational activities and employment opportunities are dependent on environmental factors such as water quality which, as we know, is a far-cry from gold standard. When coastal water quality is improved, the number of visits to a beach location can increase by an average of 52% and by 64% when improved on a stretch of river. Therefore, improving the quality of UK waters is vital to ensure coastal communities and those that rely on the water for employment and wellbeing, do not suffer.
This year has been a year of demanding change from our new Government in power. We are calling for an empowerment of nature-led approaches, to enforce the law to end sewage pollution and for UK-wide transparency about the state of our waterways. In November, we joined forces with River Action and a whole cohort of NGO’s, Environmental Charities and organistions to demand a change to our broken water system!
On Friday 1st August I was surfing at Saunton Sands in Barnstaple, North Devon.
The water didn’t feel particularly clean even though websites said it was OK and there was a lot of people in the water so I took the risk and thought it was safe.
I woke up Saturday morning with a bad ear ache. I immediately went to the pharmacy and they had a look and said my ear was very inflamed. I was told to take painkillers and use some olive oil and I would be fine.
Well I wasn’t.
By Monday I had lost a lot of my hearing and was now in pain in both ears.
I went to the doctor and they gave me an ear spray.
By Wednesday I was almost completely deaf and I could not talk, stand or even open my eyes without the strongest painkillers.
I went to my GP again and they had another look in both ears and sent me to the hospital because the infection was so bad.
I was seen by one of the top guys and he said the inside of both ears were infected so badly the whole of the inside of my ear channel was blistered and they were worried it had ruptured my ear drums!
They gave me very strong antibiotics and a nasal spray and said to return if it didn’t improve over the next few days.
I’m away on holiday in Wales which has obviously been ruined and I have been fearing never hearing again with loud ringing, thumping and ticking in my head for nearly a week now and it’s all because the water was so dirty. North Devon is so bad no one should swim or surf there. I’m certainly never going in again!