Beaches  England and Wales have closed because water companies pumped raw sewage  the sea. The UK Environment Agency issued warnings to holidaymakers to avoid dozens  beaches this week. Some of the beaches were popular places for tourists, surfers and swimmers. They risked catching diseases if they went  the water. Water companies advised people to keep their mouth closed if they swam  the sea. A resident  the south coast town  Bexhill-on-Sea described seeing things she didn't want to see floating  the water when she swam. She said: "It's filthy, murky, and it stinks." She added the sewage was "quite obvious" to see and smell. She called it a "poonami".
Many people  England are angry  the water companies. England sold its water to private investors  1989. Company CEOs are now getting million-dollar salaries and bonuses while dangerous raw sewage is polluting the environment. Water companies have pumped raw sewage  Britain's seas and rivers  more than nine million hours  2016. There has been a 2,000 per cent increase  the past five years. In 2016, the European Union said England's beaches were  the cleanest in Europe; now they are  the dirtiest. One Briton said clean water was a human right and not  company profits. She said water company CEOs care more  their salaries than the UK's environment.