An action group is to take the fight to South West Water after bathers were forced to evacuate the sea at two of Cornwall's premier beaches yesterday.
Lifeguards at Gwithian and Godrevy received calls around lunchtime advising them that sewage was being pumped into the sea and they promptly advised bathers to leave the water.
A surfing competition that was scheduled to take place in the afternoon was also cancelled.
Jean Charman, from the Trelawney Alliance Campaign Group, said: "This effectively shut down two of Cornwall's main beaches on a sunny day, in the middle of summer, on a Saturday and in the busy tourist season and this is not an isolated incident as it has happened twice so far this year and several times last summer.
"This happens because heavy rain in the Camborne area forces floodwater into the sewerage system which cannot cope and the sluice gates at Kieve Mill then have to be opened in order to release the overflow.
"We pay the highest water rates in the United Kingdom but it would appear that South West Water are doing very little to upgrade their inferior sewerage system.
"It is a fact that the pumping station at Kieve Mill cannot cope and this is particularly alarming considering that there are another 4,000 new homes with planning consent in place for Camborne."
Ms Charman went on to confirm that the Trelawany Alliance Campaign Group will be asking South West Water what they are planning to do about the problem.
A South West Water statement said: "We're sorry that organisers cancelled the surfing event at Godrevy at the weekend.
"The recent heavy rainfall led to a number of permitted overflows in line with our consents.
"We take proactive steps through our online BeachLive service to alert beach managers to these unfortunate situations so they can act accordingly and beach users can make informed decisions as to whether to swim or surf and we apologise for the inconvenience caused.
"More that £2billion has been spent helping to clean up Devon and Cornwall's bathing waters and an extra £20million is being invested this year.
"Unfortunately, during periods of intense rainfall, the system can sometimes become overloaded. We continue to work with our partners and regulators to ensure that public health is protected."
