Surfers fear a backtracking on waste treatment

GUERNSEY will be the focus of Surfers Against Sewage in the coming months. The campaign group has welcomed Public Services and Environment's Green Paper but remains concerned that the tone of the report means the States could backtrack on full sewage treatment.

The document says it will cost over '50m. to build a plant, including '10m. for possible land reclamation and '5m. in contingencies.

SAS will look closely at all the figures in the coming week, said campaigns director Richard Hardy, and also push for the departments to bring forward the date of their decision.

'We welcome the publication. It's a great opportunity for local people to have a platform to have their say and we'll be looking to flesh out the report so the public are fully aware of the options available,' he said.

The group will be working on a campaign over Christmas and the New Year to generate interest.

'We can see a light at the end of the sewage tunnel, but there were quite a few references as to whether more intensive treatment will be a consideration or not, so there are a few caveats there,' added Mr Hardy.

He was unsure why the Green Paper took so long to come out after the WRC report, which forms its basis, was completed in January.

And he said it was disappointing that the States would make no recommendations for at least a year.

'Over the next 12 months, a further 1.5bn gallons of raw sewage will be discharged into Guernsey's recreational waters.

'We will lobby the States to bring forward this review date as it presents unacceptable delays to a project that should already have been completed.'

Currently 90% of the island's sewage is discharged from the Belle Greve long outfall, relying on the natural marine process to mitigate the environmental impact.

It is planned that outlets at the Creux Mahie and Fort George will be closed by 2008, directing all flows to the Belle Greve headworks.

'The depth of water, wave action and swift tidal currents in the Little Russel provide massive dilution and sufficient oxygen for the organic matter to biodegrade naturally,' the Green Paper says.

'Harmful bacteria and viruses in well-diluted sewage are rendered harmless by the combination of temperature, salinity and sunlight.'

The departments want a more detailed survey of animal and plant life living on the seabed to provide scientific evidence of the present situation.

'Regular inspections reveal the present abundance and diversity of marine flora and fauna, which is considered to be indicative of water quality in the Little Russel.' But water quality at east-coast bathing beaches occasionally fails EU guideline standards, while parts of the Little Russel fall below the guideline standard for shellfish.

The Green Paper acknowledges the current system complies with best practice for developing countries, but is no longer considered an acceptable means of sewage disposal in any developed country.