Surfers Against Sewage (SAS) has developed its own app, external to provide alerts when bathing water quality may be affected by pollution, including sewage spills.
According to SAS, the app combines information from several sources, including voluntary data provided by water companies in England and Wales and sensors that monitor when combined sewer overflows are operating.
Sewage pollution alerts remain active for 48 hours after a discharge ends.
SAS says UK water companies keep pollution alerts active for different lengths of time. As a precaution, and to help protect people using the water, SAS keeps its current alert system active for 48 hours.
The app also provides tide information, health reporting tools and a live map showing active storm overflow discharges.
Water companies also publish information about when bathing water quality could be affected by sewage spills.
South West Water operates WaterFit Live, external, which the company says helps people “make informed decisions before they swim”.
WaterFit Live displays an alert for 12 hours and 30 minutes after a sewage spill has ended.
A separate storm overflow map provides near-real-time information about storm overflow activity. Discharges remain visible on the map for 24 hours after they stop.
South West Water says its storm overflow map “simply reports whether an overflow is operating and does not assess bathing water quality risk”. The risk to bathing water is assessed separately at beach level using the methodology published on the WaterFit Live website.
Source: www.bbc.co.uk