UK Sewage Crisis Leaves Beachgoers Sick and Frustrated
Swimmers are falling seriously ill from Britain’s polluted waters, with leaks still getting worse, not better.
As the weather turns warmer, the swimming season is getting underway, and although spills were supposed to become fewer, they’ve gotten worse.
Photographer: Henry Nicholls/AFP/Getty ImagesCharlie Clarke fell severely ill in late summer 2023 after a swim at Clevedon Marine Lake in southwest England while training for a Triathlon. The next day he collapsed on the street near his home and was taken to the hospital, where after a series of tests he was diagnosed with myocarditis — an inflammation of his heart muscle caused by an infection.
The diagnosis was a shock for Clarke, an otherwise healthy 28-year old designer, and he had to stop training. It took him about six months to do sports again and a whole year to get back to the same level of fitness. Since then, he has been “very cautious” and so far only trained in pools. He pulled out of a triathlon in September on the morning of the event after he learned of a recent sewage spill at the beach where the swim was taking place.