Mission Statement: Surfers Against Sewage is a United Kingdom-based, non-profit making organization campaigning for an end to the discharge of raw and partially treated sewage and toxic waste into our oceans and inland waters.
2 Rural Workshops
Wheal Kitty
St. Agnes, Cornwall TR5 0RD
United Kingdom
Phone: 01872.553001(UK) +44.1872.553001 (international)
Fax: 01872.552614 (UK) +44.1872.552615 (international)
E-mail: info@sas.org.uk
Web site: www.sas.org.uk
Formed: 1990
Membership Cost: full membership (in U.S. dollars) $20, family $32
Chapters: 7
Executive Director: Vicky Garner (consulting Executive Director Chris Hines)
From the Beach: 100% of total revenue from membership, merchandise, annual events, sponsorship and contributions
To the Beach: 100% used for programs and issues
Roots | Past Victories | Present Battles
Roots
You'd think the United Kingdom -- one of the most powerful island nations in the world -- would've long boasted a healthy armada of dedicated, ocean-minded, environmental organizations. Yet for years, No.10 Downing Street's relative apathy toward coastal ruin and sewage outfall went largely unopposed until a small group of Cornwall surfers, tired of getting ill from doing what they loved, formed Surfers Against Sewage (SAS) in 1990. Using unorthodox, media-friendly tactics to draw nationwide attention, that group has since evolved into a high-profile, high-impact organization with scores of legal victories and beach cleanups on its resume. Its ever-present and fervent activism have forced the "Dirty Man of Europe" to rethink its environmental standards, to make the well-being of beachgoers and fishermen equal priority to, if not higher, than big business and industry.
Upon formation, SAS quickly permeated the media and national conscience with a series of well-covered demonstrations outside the House of Commons. Donning wetsuits, gasmasks and toting massive, inflatable poop, they sent a message to the establishment that the proverbial "Old Boys' Club," those companies and decision makers unwilling to make environmental concessions, would now be held accountable.
Soon after, SAS drew much attention to two otherwise back-page cases involving a windsurfer who contracted hepatitis A in Eastbourne and persistent sewage problems at a local beach in Cornwall. In summer 1993, an awareness-raising tour of England's industrial, hyper-polluted northeast coast drew Association of Surfing Professional heroes Rob Machado, Taylor Knox and French resident Gary Elkerton (former world champ Tom Carroll threw his voice behind the SAS cause at a Newquay rally in 1994). Relentless campaigning built inroads and soon the surfers found themselves in on those same meetings they'd once protested outside, given a forum with the Water Company, the European Commission and politicians on all levels. With documentation and data on the damage done, SAS watched proudly as the waterworks of Wales, Yorkshire and Wessex adopted full sewage treatment policies. Grassroots hopes became national realities. Membership flourished, the campaign widened and a new force in environmental lobbying was firmly in place.
From early on, SAS opted not to become a so-called "registered charity." United Kingdom standards, as set by the Charity Commission, are strict and somewhat silly in defining what qualifies a group for officially recognized status. Seemingly designed to be self-defeating, the commission limits all activities deemed "political." Operating well outside the lines means no government subsidizing, so those involved with SAS, directors included, are doing so on a 100 percent voluntary basis. As they proudly note in their literature, theirs is a group paying nothing to "fat cat" interest holders. Any and all profits are returned to the kitty for legal, educational, administrative and PR costs.
Though it's not a registered entity, SAS has teamed up with one, the Clean Water Initiative (CWI), whose principal mission is spreading the clean ocean gospel in UK schools.
Past Victories
(1993) Convinced Welsh Water to change sewage policies
After repeated lobbying by SAS reps, Welsh Water conceded that its treatment policies were inadequate and rewrote the standards to mandate full treatment and disinfection for all estuarine and coastal outfalls.
(1993) Launched the SAS Medical Database
This database, the only one of its kind overseas, seeks to catalog, for information on sewage woes and legal ammunition, all illnesses contracted in U.K. waters. In 1998, the House of Commons Select Committee Inquiry into Sewage Treatment and Disposal, referencing mountains of SAS supplied stats, finally agreed that all sewage "should be treated to a tertiary level at all times and in all places." The mandatory implementation of these recommendations will be arguably SAS's greatest triumph to date.
(1995-present) Strongly encouraged the use of UV disinfection plants
At the urging of SAS, Welsh Water opened a UV treatment facility at Criccieth in North Wales. Since then, a multibillion-dollar initiative to build 100 such new plants made its way through government, assuring eventual water disinfection for eight million more people throughout the U.K.
(1997) Supplied House of Commons with oral and written evidence of sewage related illnesses with possible solutions
Based on SAS data and testimonies, the House of Commons Committee recommended tertiary treatment at all levels and locales for the first time ever in the U.K.
(2000) Offered key testimony in the court case of Heather Preen
Eight-year-old Heather Preen died after contracting E. coli 0157 while bathing at Teignmouth, South Devon. SAS director Chris Hines was called as a witness in the subsequent inquest. The jury found that the Health Authority had done a woeful job of alerting local beachgoers to the threat and recommended the implementation of UV treatment at nearby sewage facilities. The verdict drew major attention to the carelessness of the Health Authority in water-related illnesses.
Present Battles
Overseeing the implementation of the Program of Environmental Obligations
Scheduled to take place between 2000 and 2005, this landmark program would supply millions of U.K. beachgoers with much cleaner water via upgraded treatment plants. Several large water companies have already objected to the plan, citing fiscal concerns. SAS will lead the fight to assure the program's success.
Continue lobbying for a revised EC Bathing Water Directive
SAS reps will continue meeting with European Commissioners in Brussels and the Department of Environment, Transport and Regions in London to assure that this inadequate bill is upgraded to acceptable standards over the next three years.
Organizing a boycott of Scottish Power
A massive and powerful conglomerate, Scottish Power recently bought Southern Water and has refused to implement mandatory tertiary treatment at its plants. In addition, it's planning to build a mammoth gas power station at Shoreham Harbor, destroying a nearby surf break.
Continue lobbying for the safe recycling of sewage sludge
Often viewed as a worthless byproduct of the treatment process, sewage sludge is rich in phosphorus, a key ingredient in fertilizers. Developing safe methods for treating sludge (i.e. pasteurization) will lead to its eventual reintroduction to nature, thereby continuing the necessary cyclical process and eliminating the need for non-renewable phosphorus sources like phosphate rich rocks. SAS is at the forefront of a movement to convince the Water Industry to further research this subject.
Spread the SAS gospel with informational, educational tours of the U.K.
In May 2000, a group of the U.K.'s top surfers, along with reps from SAS and the British Surfing Association, will hop aboard a tour bus and travel throughout the U.K., stopping in local communities and at schools to raise awareness about cleaning up the sea. Missions like these and SAS's numerous fundraising music events and parties will underscore its commitment to making environmental action fun and functional. -- Greg Heller
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