Public Services moved engineers onto site at once, but repairs will take days. (Picture by Steve Sarre, 0616276)
PUBLIC Services minister Bernard Flouquet said that a major leak had been discovered in the sewer which takes waste out to sea. But until the pipe had been uncovered, he could not say what had caused the breach.
He was at the scene of the flood until 1am.
‘We know there has been a major leak between the main line going into the shaft that takes the waste out to sea, but until we uncover it today, which we are working on at the moment, we won’t know what caused it,’ he said. Deputy Flouquet said it was a great pity that the incident occurred before work on an emergency bypass could be finished.
‘We were aware that issues like this could happen and we were only four weeks off from opening the emergency bypass which was designed to deal with this sort of problem.’
He said beachgoers would also see the effects of the flooding in the next days.
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10 Article Comments
The sooner the States of Guernsey stop pumping sewage into the sea and deal with it properly, the better for the environment and the poor people who have been flooded. It is a scandal in this day and age that the States feel they can still pump human waste into the sea and ignore the environmental impact it has on Guernsey and surrounding areas.
Four weeks until online? That doesn’t stack up Mr Flouquet, this was all completed last year wasn’t it?
at least we have a deputy who gets his hands dirty. keep up the good work Mr Flouquet.
This sewage flooding was an accident waiting to happen and yet the States have dragged its heels over a suitable sewage treatment plant for decades.
Some seem to lie in their beds not worrying about the pollution we are causing to the marine environment (out of sight, out of mind) but this episode brings the matter sharply back in focus, what a nasty business raw sewage is. If any of us polluted the environment we would be prosecuted. Is it not time for the relevant civil servants and politicians to be prosecuted for corporate negligence? Our last bit of the tourist industry must surely now be dead. How can any tourists in their right mind go onto our previously unspoilt beaches?
The whole sewage in the sea issue makes my blood boil. The children love the beach and the sea but I for one won’t let mine swim at the moment. I am ashamed that tourists coming here have to witness the foul human waste being pumped out to sea,let alone the risk of it being dumped on the beaches. Why isn’t something being done?
i would just like to say I totally agree with what mike added. A phrase I recall my mother saying hundreds of times whilst I was young “Actions speak louder than Words” The states of Guernsey really need to take action on this I wonder what there reactions would be if there houses had been flooded with human waste!
Once again we have sewage being pumped directly into the sea, this is crazy can we not afford to sort out a treatment plant and bring Guernsey into the 21st Century? There is all this talk about bringing more tourism into the island but how can we expect this to rise when we do this! I’ve been yacht racing out in the little russel for the last 10 years and I see the sewage and toilet paper floating around all the time, even one of the boats has had to clean a nice streak of it off the hull! Tt makes me wander if all the fish we eat and love have been dinning on this debris? When will the day come when the Guernsey people demand the states do something about this….. surely it would benefit us all when our seas are clear of sewage! Or should we all depend on the finance industry to keep bringing in the money as these headlines will not help the tourism industry, who would want to come to an island surrounded by sewage!
Or should we just burry our heads in the sand and let the states do what they want with our taxes……
It is an absolute disgrace that raw sewage is pumped into the sea in this day and age. The States need to listen to the people of Guernsey and the Surfers against Sewage and move into the 21st century and build a proper treatment plant to deal with this waste. Why is this disgusting practice still allowed? There are a lot of surfers in my family and they have been protesting for years - who wants to be swimming around in human waste? How on earth can Guernsey advertise itself as a beautiful island when the sea (and beaches) are covered in sewage, never mind the poor peoples houses - get something done for everyones sake! Hoteliers should get onto the States if they want people to come back year after year and keep tourism an important part of the Guernsey economy.
I think that this is the most disgusting thing I have ever heard of. I love swimming in the sea but now I’m not allowed and it is spoiling my Summer.
As a holiday maker and visitor to Guernsey for the last 35 years it amazes me that in the 21st century Guernsey should be run like a third world economy with no regard for the effects of its lack of investment in infrastructure and the environment.
The high level of pollution of the beaches and sea is the last straw; this coupled with the high travel costs will affect my decision to visit in the future.
If you thought the tourist industry in Guernsey was dying, you have to look no further than your government (past and present) for the reasons.