Dr Loo and friends seek pollution extermination

SURFERS AGAINST SEWAGE has raised the stakes in the campaign to bring full effluent treatment to Guernsey. During its latest visit, a 'Turdis' appeared in Belle Greve Bay to highlight the group's case. This followed a petition and postcard campaign.

SAS says water quality locally has declined over the past 10 years and that the island is in danger of falling further behind as European Union guidelines get tougher.

The Public Services and Environment Departments are set to release a green paper on the issue early next month. It will go for public consultation.

'I think the first good sign that people were interested in the debate happened towards the end of last year. We wanted to force the issue high up the political agenda so we launched the petition and in less than a month, more than 2,000 islanders signed it,' said SAS campaigns director Richard Hardy.

'That, combined with the postcard campaign we did in the summer, has brought this right up the political agenda. We welcome the fact that Public Services and Environment have taken the issue to a Green Paper and hope that it will offer a range of solutions. We hope the departments have been brave about that.'

He added that the Green Paper was the opportunity for the public to really engage in the debate and would help make people more aware of what full sewage treatment could do for the island.

Yesterday, Dr Loo, a sick surfer and a giant virus burst from a blue police box.

'It's a crucial time for

the Public Services and Environment Departments to grapple with this issue ' a crucial time to get sustainable solutions and a crucial time to get the public involved,' said Mr Hardy.

He added that it was hard for the group to put a cost on a suitable sewage-treatment plant.

'It will be more expensive in Guernsey because you're starting from scratch. We've been looking at similar-size conurbations to Guernsey in terms of the UK, but it's a little early in the debate for that,' he said.

'I think it's important for us to take it from the environmental perspective.'

Viruses and bacteria in sewage can make people who come into contact with them sick, he said, and full treatment would improve that. He added that raw sewage circulates the island for five or six days and viruses such as hepatitis A survive for up to 100 days in sea water.

Criticism that its campaigns damaged tourism was something SAS faced in England in the early 1990s, he said.

'People were convinced that what we were saying was wrong. All we are campaigning for is cleaner sea water and we have delivered that across the UK. Sea water quality has improved, health has improved and people are seeing the benefits,' added Mr Hardy.

'Jersey took the leap in 1994 and has really added huge value to its economy because of that. Those benefits are just around the corner for Guernsey as well. SAS will make sure people become aware of the island delivering cleaner sewage water ' if full treatment goes ahead, we'll do the most to ensure it benefits from that.'

The cost of sewage treatment has come down in the past 10 years and, he said, it was important to recognise that there were financial benefits to be gained from the expenditure.

SAS spent yesterday afternoon handing out leaflets in Town.