Charity Surf Event Cancelled Due to Sewage Discharge

Organisers announced that a charity Santa surf event in Cornwall was called off over the weekend because of a sewage discharge. The Wave Project had organized the event, which was scheduled for Saturday at Fistral beach in Newquay, but it was cancelled after an overflow discharge occurred on Friday. According to the charity, participants could not enter the water for a minimum of 24 hours following any overflow incident, citing insurance requirements. South West Water (SWW) reported that a spill, lasting under an hour, occurred on the beach on Friday, attributed to heavy rainfall. This event was part of the charity’s participation in the Big Give Christmas Challenge, a campaign designed to double all contributions received. The organizers stated that 35 surfers and 25 volunteers were expected to take part. Ramon Van de Velde, the chief executive officer of the Wave Project, commented that the decision was “not taken lightly”. He added, “An ocean full of sewage is not a safe space.” “It compromises the health, wellbeing and trust that underpin everything we do. “It’s deeply disheartening, and confusing, when we must tell our surfers that the same environment we champion as life-enhancing is, in moments like these, unsafe and harmful.” The charity explained that “insurance restrictions” prevented participating surfers from entering the water for 24 hours following a spill. SWW confirmed that no storm overflow spills occurred at Fistral on Saturday, but an alert, active for 12 hours and 30 minutes, had been issued after Friday’s spill. It stated, “The alert was removed in the early hours of Saturday morning following a full tidal cycle.” The water company indicated that historical data demonstrates the region’s bathing waters are typically fully tidal. It further explained, “This means that after 12.5 hours, bathing water quality will no longer be impacted by our storm overflows.”