Surfers Against Sewage (SAS) is a UK-based non-profit formed in 1990 by surfers in Cornwall to address water pollution through advocacy and education. SAS campaigns to improve UK ocean water quality by reducing sewage overflows and litter. They organize beach cleanups and have educated thousands about pollution's impacts. Key issues SAS addresses are the 31,000 annual sewer overflows contaminating water and doubling of marine litter over 15 years. SAS aims to mobilize thousands of volunteers annually to continue cleaning beaches and informing communities about ocean health issues.

1. Name: Emily Monsey
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2. The client: SAS – Surfers Against Sewage
Overview of the client.
Who are they, when did they start, why did they start, what do they do, how are
they funded?
Surfers against sewage are an organisation formed to save the sea from sewage
and rubbish that is emptied in to it and polluting the it, making it virtually
impossible for some people to even attempt to surf as it causes dangers and
hazards. Surfers against sewage was established in 1990 by a group of local surfers
passionate about what they do in the coast villages of St Agnes and Porthtowan.
They wanted the water quality of the UK-wide to be vastly improved which would
in turn help them with their love of surfing which started to be achieved after the
organisation created a national movement for it to happen. Their aim is to
improve the UK’s oceans to a safe standard via campaigning, volunteering,
conservation, education, community action and scientific research. They wish to
educate communities of what is wrong with the oceans today and how they are
going to change that. The charity is funded through membership subscriptions,
individual and corporate donations, grant making bodies, merchandise,
fundraising events and project sponsorship. So it is completely run by donations
and the sales of their products, meaning in order for the charity to keep going
these things have to keep going and generating money.

3. The issues:
Your client advocates on a number of different yet related issues.
•What issues your client campaign on?
As this charity is all about saving the oceans of the UK they generally want safer,
cleaner water that will in turn help on an environmental level and also for surfers
and people that enjoy going to the beach and using the ocean. They also
campaign in order for people to recognise the work they are doing and to
hopefully gain more followers of their work as they constantly are trying to inform
communities of the oceans problems that they aren’t always made aware of and
to educate them of the dangers and how they believe they can help this to end.
•What are some of the impacts they have managed to achieve?
Overall they are helping to educate those that aren’t aware of the potential
dangers of polluting the sea with sewage and litter as this is something that isn’t
made big news very often. They also have achieved beach clean ups which is an
event they organise in order to bring people together and try and help to clear
the sea and the beaches around the UK. As a result of their work they have
achieved several awards some of which include; BBC Coast Award 2010, Observer
Ethical Award 2012, Cornwall Today Awards 2013 and The Lovie Awards 2013.
•What are they still hoping to achieve?
Their aims for the future are to continue to help clear the seas and to undertake

4. The issues:
and promote the benefit of the public and the conservation, protection,
improvement and ecologically sustainable management of the marine
environment including associated land, shoreline and structures. They also wish to
advance the education of the public and to encourage more people to support the
charity and the work they do. There end goal for the charity is to obviously
completely clear the seas one day and to stop or at least decrease the amount of
sewage, waste and litter that is emptied in to the sea as doing so brings along so
many dangers and issues that effect and lessen the chances of people being able
to actually go in the sea and surf.

5. Facts and figures:
Use this space to highlight key facts and figures related to this project. These could be very useful later on
in your project as you try to raise awareness.
• Water Quality – A massive factor that the organisation are trying to improve and solve in some way is the
pollution of the water and the actual quality of it as it is definitely not as clear, clean or safe as some people
believe. In actual fact the water is ruined and polluted as a result of sewage contamination from sewage
overflows and diffuse pollution. There are approximately 31,000 sewer overflows around the UK every year
which aren’t even regulated or reported most of the time. This leaves the sea dangerous for people to swim
or surf in, an easy way to spread diseases and illnesses and also is extremely unhygienic, however many
people are completely unaware of this even happening.
• Marine Litter – Marine litter has become a massive issue as more and more people are dumping their litter
or unwanted items in to the sea and not thinking about the serious effects and troubles this is causing. Over
the past 15 years the amount of marine litter washing up on UK beaches has almost doubled, meaning that
something has to be done and also that not many people have been educated of the severe consequences
that go along with dumping you litter in to the ocean. The sources of the marine litter involve 40.4% coming
from the public. This proves that organisations like this are very important regarding the campaigning and
the work that they do in order to educate people of the consequences as it can hopefully dramatically
reduce numbers like this. 4.5% comes from sewage and 13.9% comes from fishing litter so all of this is coming
from people, this is what SAS are trying to prevent as they attempt to decrease these numbers dramatically.
• The surfers against sewage organisation mobilise over 5,000 community beach clean volunteers and
educate thousands of people on the issue in talks at schools and various events.
• In 2014 alone over 9715 people volunteered at 335 beach cleans which removed almost 60 tonnes in total.
SAS want to have mobilise 10,000 – 12,000 community volunteers in 2015 and as a target they wish that by
2020 they have 25,000 volunteers and to deliver 1,000 beach cleans and implement 5,000 beach litter
surveys annually as part of the campaign.
• The Safer Seas Service sent 212,772 free, real-time pollution warnings in 2014. This is something they set
up so that whenever there is a danger in the sea or a reason not to be out in it, for example if there has
been a sewage overflow, they will then send alerts out to the people that have asked for it so that they then
know not to go out in the sea that day.