A TEACHER says he was forced to quit his job after contracting an incurable ear condition caused by surfing in sewage-polluted water.
Reuben Santer, 33, told of his “awful nine months” as he suffered severe dizzy spells and hearing loss after contracting Meniere’s disease after surfing at Saunton Beach in Devon.
His case was highlighted by Surfers Against Sewage campaign group, who said reports to them of being sick after entering the water have nearly tripled in the last year.
It warned that the sewage scandal is increasingly becoming an public health problem in its annual Water Quality Report released this week.
Today, the chief executive of water regulator Ofwat was grilled by MPs in the public accounts committee.
David Black was forced to admit plans for a £100 million fund, paid for by customers, for a public campaign to reduce water consumption would not work on its own.
Tory MP Anne Marie Morris said similar efforts by water companies have “singularly failed,” asking: “What makes you think it’s going to make the slightest bit of difference?”
Ofwat chairman Iain Coucher said: “Absolutely, is £100m enough? No. That’s not the only source.”
Mr Black added that water resilience projects are vital, but “the challenge is not so much the level of investment, it’s getting major infrastructure projects from conception to being built.”
He said building water reservoirs was part of solution to boosting supply resilience, but suggested previous attempts had been hindered in the planning process.
SAS found that 1,924 people reported getting ill after entering the water in the 12 months up to September — up from 720 the year previously.
Three out of four of those who visited a GP said the medic attributed their illness to exposure to sewage-polluted waters.
Its report found that untreated sewage was discharged across waterways in England, Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales more than 399,864 times — over 1,000 times a day.
Giles Bristow, the CEO of SAS, said more people are using water for recreational activities at the same time as rampant sewage dumping, so “it’s bound to be that more people are getting ill.”
He added that the report “reveals the complacency and disregard of governments, water companies and regulators towards the health of rivers and coastlines in the UK, and by extension people’s health.”
The Department for the Environment and Rural Affairs insisted action was being taken to address the levels of sewage dumping in waterways.
