Sewage on beach plan 'absolutely disgusting'

PROTESTERS against Guernsey's treatment of sewage are outraged by proposals to pump waste onto the beach at Belle Greve Bay. Environmental campaigner Vic Froome was shocked by the plans.

'I'm absolutely disgusted,' he said. 'I can't prove anything scientifically, but I do not believe nature can deal with having 60,000 people's waste pumped into one area.

'I think if we do that it will change the whole area. I don't think you can expect nature to handle a dramatic change like that.

'I spoke to Andrew Redhead at Guernsey Water who said that human waste was no more toxic than any other type of manure, but I don't think it can be good for people, or the area.'

The 1900 drain would be hooked up to the Belle Greve pumping station and sewage diverted through it when the long sea outfall is being surveyed, refurbished or maintained.

Mr Froome said the plan was crazy.

'I can't believe that it has come to this,' he said.

'You're talking about a couple of hundred yards offshore and there will not be enough water to deal with it if it's done at low tide.'

He accused Public Services of standing still and not doing enough to solve the island's sewage problem.

'They have obviously done no work on the infrastructure. They haven't even checked this 100-year-old pipe out to make sure it works.

'They are going to check it out but what are they going to do if it doesn't.

'We have no storage facility and we should never have been allowed to get into this mess.'

But a former president of Public Services' forerunner, the Public Thoroughfares Committee, Peter Bougourd, claimed the department was doing all it could.

'Sewage flows and you have to deal with it,' he said. 'I'm quite sure that Public Services has explored all avenues available to them. And I'm sure they are doing the right thing.

'There has been no solid evidence that what we have been doing all these years is the wrong thing. Nothing has changed since I was in office despite all the doom and gloom from people like Surfers Against Sewage.

'There has been no outbreak of disease like people said there would. I understand that it is an emotive subject and people are concerned. But Public Services have done a lot of research and there is nothing to say it's harmful.'

Richard Hardy, from Surfers Against Sewage, said the group was disappointed that full sewage treatment had still not been recommended by Public Services.

'It seems PSD's only significant recommendation in the short term is to spend what could amount to £16m. in maintaining the status quo,' he said.

'SAS recently described the Public Services approach to this issue as one of ?fudging? and this seems to be what we are getting from the latest report.'