Turning The Tide Towards Cleaner Seas

BRITONS are proud of the seas around their island nation and the important marine life that it sustains. With 16,700 kilometres (about 10,500 miles) of outstandingly beautiful coastline, the prevention of pollution and keeping seas clean has become increasingly important.

Official bodies such as the Environment Agency, and the Maritime & Coastguard Agency are on watch, responsible throughout the United Kingdom for implementing the government’s policy for clean, healthy and productive seas as well as maritime safety.

They work in partnership with central government, businesses, local authorities and communities to fulfil these duties, making sure that marine ecosystems are healthy and protected.

And many others are joining them with a drive towards a better environment. One example, using modern environmental technology and working to bring cleaner seas to the Kent coastline of southern England, is the major utility company Southern Water.

As part of a major cleaner seas project costing 80 million pounds, the company is laying an 11-kilometre pipeline in which wastewater from the Margate and Broadstairs area on the coast of south-east England will be transferred to a new treatment works.

Up to 20 million litres of wastewater will be treated every day at the works where it will undergo a series of advanced processes including disinfection by ultraviolet light. The treated wastewater will be returned by a second parallel pipeline for release about two kilometres out to sea at Foreness Point.

Part of the project, which is scheduled for completion in 2007, involves laying a 700-metre section of pipeline across the end of the runway at Kent International Airport at Manston.

Keith Jeffery, Southern Water’s project manager, said: “The work at the airport is being carefully coordinated with the airport authority and the team is in constant contact with the control tower to ensure there are no safety issues.”

Coasts and seas are a national asset but the growing pressures from human activities, climate change and coastal erosion have lately threatened the quality of the environment and the people and businesses that depend on it.

The sea has shaped the history and culture of the UK and is vital for the future of many people, in businesses, fisheries, tourism, recreation as well as wildlife - all needing cleaner seas. One in three people in the UK lives near the sea, and the coast is a favourite destination for holidaymakers.

Some 97 per cent of the UK’s trade by weight is by sea and remains vital to the economy. The challenge being faced is to find the right balance between managing human activities today and protecting the marine environment for the future.

The UK government has recently made a commitment to tackle this challenge with marine law that will embrace all uses of the sea, protect marine resources and simplify regulation.

“We want our coasts and seas to continue to provide food for people, homes for local communities, a destination for tourists, a place for business, and habitats for wildlife,” said an Environment Agency spokesman.