From a correspondent:

Why is Budleigh Salterton suffering this terrible, hammering noise, I have been asked?

The old Victorian combined sewer outfall passes under the estuary at its mouth to discharge on the lee side of the Otter Head rocks. This pipe spilled RAW sewage 48 times for 433 hours in 2021 into the bay. (the latest figures available).

The swimmers  who live in the town will testify that there has been times when it would be foolish to enter the sea this summer.

This pipe is now likely to be subject to erosion when the Lower Otter Restoration Project is complete. If it is to continue to be used to discharge poo into the sea it must be replaced. This means using a hydraulic hammer to drive a new pipe horizontally under the Lime Kiln car park to the other side of the estuary mouth.

This may have been understandable if there was no money available but £2.2 billion was accessible for water companies to build wastewater infrastructure and tackle sewage being ditched in our rivers and seas. And, as Owl recently reported, South West Water is the second worst investor after Yorkshire Water spending only 39% of what it could.

 Water companies fail to splash out on improvements, especially SWW | East Devon Watch

With this money available one might have hoped that SWW would make this pipe redundant and sort out the mess at the Lime Kiln Pumping station.

Budleigh residents can now rest assured that their untreated poo can continue to be discharged at the Otter Head for the next 100 years on a weekly basis.