This picture shows a discharge lasting 49 hours in Hampshire's Langstone Harbour, an SSSI site that is also used for a variety of water sports.

All maritime craft are discouraged from dumping sewage into any sea, waterway or river. Water treatment companies are legally able to dump raw sewage at any time without restriction.

Legislation was changed to allow water treatment companies to discharge water containing untreated sewage into our seas, waterways and rivers without restriction. In my area it is Southern Water, but all treatment companies do this.

They claim it is to prevent flooding after excessive heavy rain, and that discharges only have 5% untreated sewage in it. That doesn't sound much until you see the vast number of discharges and the length of time they discharge on each occasion. It amounts to vast amounts of bacteria, viruses, hormones, medicine residue and a lot more being fed into the waters.

It has been proved that all marine inhabitants are being affected. Human hormones etc have been found in their cells. We eat produce from the water and inevitably this will affect us too.

Various groups have been trying to get the practice stopped. Locally to me The Sunny Mermaid has been petitioning her local MP, Surfers against Sewage have been doing the same across the country.

Those of us who swim in the Solent are able to check the water quality via an app, but the waters are not always monitored in the winter, so we then have to take a chance. Not all areas are able to check at all.

Visitors to our shores and waterways are not always aware that these discharges occur and let their children, and indeed themselves go into the waters, unaware of the problems they may get health wise.

It is not a coincidence that the incidence of sickness, diarrhoea, swimmer's ear and host of other illnesses affect water users every year after discharges have taken place.

So many of us find great benefit in open water swimming, paddleboarding, sailing etc. Not only is the exercise important, our general health, mental and emotional health is enhanced.

The water companies carrying out this disgusting practice appear to have no concern for water users. They appear to choose not to invest in doing everything they can to stop putting ANY raw sewage into seas, waterways or rivers.

More and more houses are being built everywhere, so we can only imagine how the discharges will increase in number!

Please sign this petition to force a debate in Parliament to force water companies to stop harming the environment and depriving us of the use of our beautiful seas, lakes and rivers. STOP THEM MAKING US ILL.