The alerts issued state that storm sewage has been discharged at both locations from a sewer overflow in this location within the past 48 hours.
Warnings are also in place for Beer, Sidmouth and Exmouth. However, other Teignbridge beaches such as Teignmouth, Shaldon, Dawlish Warren and Coryton Cove remain clear.
Surfers Against Sewage, who help to monitor our coastlines and campaign for cleaner oceans, stated: ‘Shockingly unsurprising. It’s a horrifying sight on our Safer Seas and Rivers Service app today. What’s happening? A rainy day and sewage SPEWS into our waterways.’
South West Water responded on Twitter: ‘Any discharge you can see is likely from a storm drain, these are in place to prevent the backup of sewage into homes and businesses. Due to the dry weather, water is not soaking into the ground and is going straight into the drains meaning that the overflows need to be used.’
Surfers Against Sewage described the nature of the pollution hazard. They note that Holcombe is an isolated beach backed by cliffs and a railway line, and the sewer overflow discharges into the Holcombe Stream 40m upstream of the beach. For Dawlish, they state: ‘It is a sandy beach resort approximately 650m wide and close to the town and cliffs. There are five sewer overflows covered by the Safer Seas Service here within 650m off the beach which can operate in heavy rainfall.’
To access the interactive map and ensure your beach day isn’t scuppered by sewage, go to: https://www.sas.org.uk/map/