A WATER company has pledged to install monitors at every sewage overflow in the southwest by the end of next year.

Wessex Water has monitors at more than 80 per cent of overflows in the region but have said that figure will rise to 100 per cent by the end of 2023.

It follows a claim by the Liberal Democrats that monitors being used for measuring the amount of sewage being pumped into the sea are faulty or not even installed.

Wessex Water has also confirmed there are no faults with their monitors but said false alarms can sometimes be caused by factors such as wildlife triggering a sensor or mobile network failures.

These are reported as alerts, which feed into the Surfers Against Sewage interactive map, and join other alerts issued by the Environment Agency (EA).

Read more: Which Dorset beaches saw sewage discharges in past 24 hours

Several areas on the map flagged as potentially polluted have raised concern amongst the public recently.

On Tuesday August 16, Boscombe Pier and Lulworth Cove had been marked with a ‘Pollution Risk Warning’, but Wessex Water said the alert was issued by the EA, and confirmed that no overflows had been discharged in the two areas at that time.

However, the following day, a map on Wessex Water's website showed sewage has been discharged at West Bay, Eypemouth, Swanage, Hengistbury Head, Avon Beach and Friars Cliff in Christchurch.

Earlier in the month, Wessex Water said they were working to eliminate discharge of any untreated sewage.

A spokesperson said: “Storm overflows are sometimes used during heavy rainstorms to protect properties and roads from sewer flooding by releasing stormwater into watercourses.

Read more: Interactive map shows sewage released near Dorset beaches in last 48 hours

“While it’s extremely rare for storm overflows to cause a sewage pollution incident, we’re committed to completely eliminating the discharge of any untreated sewage. Every month we’re investing £3million to reduce storm overflows, starting with those which discharge most frequently or which have any environmental impact.”

Sorted Surf Shop in Boscombe has been involved in ongoing campaigns against sewage spills, but are concerned ahead of winter, when weather may be more unpredictable.

A spokesperson for the shop said: “Whenever there is rainfall there are sewage spills across the bay which has a huge knock-on effect on local tourism as beaches are red flagged or the water simply looks uninviting to visitors, so people stay away from the seafront.

"We end up having to cancel lessons, we can't hire, and our shops are much quieter as people have no reason to come down to the seafront.”

Wessex Water have confirmed that they are working with Sorted Surf Shop on the issue, and said: “Locally, we’re continuing to work with Sorted Surf Shop and other beach users to provide out-of-season and rainfall-related water sampling at Boscombe Pier.”