Pretty little UK seaside town at war with sewage firm as beaches 'ruined' by human poo

The pretty seaside UK town is at war with water bosses after residents have been warned they can’t swim in its poo-infested waters. Romney Marsh residents and business owners are at their wit’s end after the Environment Agency (EA) said that they couldn’t say when the advisory will be lifted - sparking panic that their summer season will be ruined.

The sea in coastal area in Kent - which also includes Littlestone and St Mary’s Bay - was found to contain high levels of a bacterium that indicates the presence of human faeces.

For the past 15 months people have been urged not to go into the sea at St Mary’s Bay, while the same advice was also issued in Littlestone in January after the water there was found to be polluted.

A heated public meeting took place at New Romney’s Assembly Rooms where around 100 angry residents and traders fumed.

Fingers were pointed at Southern Water at the meeting but the firm says the issue is not their doing. Meanwhile the EA says there is “no single cause” but that it’s identified a number of sources - including dog and bird faeces and people misconnecting toilets and showers.

Stephanie Canniford, who runs a dog walking business called Take the Lead in Romney Marsh and is also a resident, said that locals are angry.

She said: “The impact is going to be more on seasonal businesses. I do think that a lot of people are really angry with it.

“You hear of people who have tried to do things about it but the companies just say that you don’t have a legal right to use the ocean. It is very frustrating.

“The area where we are is quite off the beaten track and in the summer season we rely on tourists. It’ll be interesting to see what happens this year.

“We are a unique little piece of the English coastline. We had lockdown and the cost of living crisis against us - what else can they throw at us?”

Dino Johnson owns a guest house up the coast in Littlestone and said that the issue is not yet impacting business but fears that could all change.

He said: “I can’t see it affecting business yet but maybe in the summer. Of course they need to fix it - they keep dumping their waste there and have been doing it for ages.

“It’s not something that can be fixed overnight but they do need to get it sorted.”

Gemma Bellamy, 41, co-owns water sports school and shop The Foiling Collective on Littlestone beach, and told KentOnline the business has been thrown into “turmoil”.

She said: “Morally we have taken the decision not to open the school. We also would not be covered by the insurance company.

“We are making no money and the do-not-swim warning has thrown us into turmoil.”

She added: “I don’t know where the business will be in a year’s time - everything is so up in the air.”

The Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs bathing water profile revealed that “agricultural runoff and private sewage effluents” could be the cause.

It said: “Environment Agency investigations have identified the ‘New Sewer’ water course as potential source of pollution to the bathing water. This river takes the drainage from the surrounding marshland, which includes agricultural runoff and private sewage effluents.”

Tom Gallagher, open water lead at Southern Water said: “We work in partnership with the Environment Agency, councils and other bodies to protect and enhance the quality of our seas.

“Investigations by us and the EA have shown that St Mary’s Bay and Littlestone are being affected by a combination of private sewerage, illegally misconnected facilities plumbed straight into surface water drains and other run off.

“We’re investing to track down the misconnection as a single misplumbed toilet can put 20000 litres of sewage straight on to the beach.

“We’re also connecting cesspit owners to the public sewer at our expense and relining our sewers to make them more robust.”

He added: “We and the EA are confident storm overflows or treatment works in the area are not associated with high samples recorded in 2023.”

An Environment Agency spokesperson said: “We are continuing to work with Southern Water and Folkestone & Hythe District Council to investigate water quality at Romney Marsh and have found a number of different pollution sources affect this site.

“We will continue to work with partners and residents to find the solutions to improve the water quality along this stretch of coastline and across the country.”