Yellow fish campaign

We have partnered with Southern Water, the Environment Agency and West Sussex County Council to help prevent our coastal waters from being polluted.

Yellow fish are appearing beside dozens of local drains, particularly along coastal roads and paths, as part of a national campaign to highlight how pollution of road surface drains impacts coastal water quality.

Road surface drains are designed to only transport rainwater, and are linked straight to the sea via outlet pipes along the foreshore. Any chemicals or litter, whether it be paint, dog poo or fluid waste from campervans, therefore directly impacts our local water quality.

To raise awareness of the issue, large stickers featuring yellow fish and the catchphrase “only rain down the drain” are being positioned beside some highway surface drains. Their purpose is to help people understand that if any kind of waste enters the system, it will directly contaminate the natural environment.

The first yellow fish have been positioned beside surface drains along Goring seafront, with some of Worthing and Shoreham seafronts to follow in the coming months. These areas are believed to be the local areas likely to be worst affected by third-party contamination.

Signs, which may have brought you to this webpage, are also being installed near the yellow fish to explain their meaning and direct people to more information.

The campaign forms part of our ongoing work to improve the standard of our bathing water sites for the benefit of residents, visitors and nature.

To find out more about the area's bathing water sites, visit:

• Bathing water quality - Seawater
• Bathing waters: Who does what?

Photo: A surface drain with one of the new yellow fish campaign stickers by it

Photo: A drain in Worthing that has had liquid waste poured down it

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