Goodbye Beachbuoy, welcome aboard Rivers and Seas Watch
Southern Water launches major upgrade to Beachbuoy service
The way customers can view storm overflow activity across our region is changing, thanks to a new service which will go fully live on 13 November 2024
From that date, our existing Beachbuoy online tool will be removed, and the new Rivers and Seas Watch service will take its place.
It will feature every single combined sewer outfall – also known as storm overflows – along our 700 miles of coastline and the scores of rivers and streams which criss-cross Kent, Sussex, Hampshire and the Isle of Wight.
Rivers and Seas Watch has been running in beta mode - as a prototype version - on our website since June, and has regularly been updated to ensure it is working as it should be.
During this time, we have been able to collect lots of feedback from users to make it the best fit possible - on top of the many helpful suggestions collated from our wider community of Beachbuoy subscribers, campaign groups and local stakeholders,. Technology experts also fed into our Beachbuoy Independent Review.
From Wednesday 13 November, the completed Rivers and Seas Watch will go fully live, featuring:
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Enhanced user experience across different devices (mobile, laptop, desktop), making it easier to find a location, and access and understand information
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Comprehensive and accessible information on how the service works
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An industry-leading mapping platform, presenting information in a clean and timely way
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Improved email notifications, offering more context to storm overflow activity (such as tides, weather and other factors)
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Integration with our overall plans to cut storm overflows, to help users understand what improvements are planned in each area
Luke Hyttner, Project Lead, said:
“Rivers and Seas Watch has been created following a customer-first approach, engaging extensively with our community to understand their needs, wants and feedback from Beachbuoy.
"This has been invaluable in allowing us to really focus our efforts on improving how we communicate this important information to the public in a transparent, accurate and timely way."
So users can make the most of this service, they must sign up for alerts for their local beaches, as data protection rules mean we cannot carry previous Beachbuoy users over.
Storm overflows are part of how the wastewater system was designed, to avoid flooding of homes and communities when surface and ground water overloads the sewer network. However, we are working hard to cut their use by keeping these extra flows out - through rolling out a range of engineering and nature-based solutions.
Find out more about how we plan to drastically reduce storm overflows by reading our £1.5bn Clean Rivers and Seas Plan.