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These shocking photos were captured today, revealing what appears to be sewage flowing freely into water off of Southend seafront. The area of darker, brown-coloured water was spotted by a man in a light aircraft who labelled it “disgraceful”. Mark Hutley said: “I’ve never seen anything like it. It could be seen for miles.” It was seen in between Chalkwell beach and Westcliff beach. The apparent sewage spill is close to one of Anglian Water’s ‘storm overflow’ pipes. The overflow pipe named ‘Southend -Western Valley’ discharges into the Thames Estuary. Latest records indicate that it was active today, Sunday 8 September. Anglian Water states on their reporting portal that the storm overflow “is operating within permitted use under a regulatory permit.” Permits are set by the Environment Agency, which specify conditions for controlled sewage and stormwater spills during heavy rainfall and or snow melt, striking a balance between flood prevention and environmental protection. The controlled spills are allowed in order to prevent flooding in homes and businesses. Anglian Water also say: “Substantial environmental investments are being made to minimise the impact of these spills, aligning with regulations to balance flood control and environmental protection.” In a statement, the company said: “In response to the changing expectations of our customers, we are investing more than ever to reduce storm overflow spills, reduce pollutions and restore river health. We recognise customers want us to take swift action to end storm overflow discharges. We intend to meet these expectations and have geared our latest Business Plan to address the highest priority overflows soonest.” Your Southend has approached the Environment Agency and Anglian Water for further comment.