Pressure is being ramped up on water companies to reveal their plan to improve water bathing quality along Kent’s coastline following a government minister’s visit this week.

Leading campaigners in Deal - which has been hit with a poor rating - worry the damage is being done already to the town’s reputation as it gears up for the summer tourism season.

They have also cast doubt the government’s plan will follow through and provide enough resources to fix the issue.

Environment Secretary Steven Reed visited beaches in Deal and Walmer on Tuesday stressing a new law promising £104 billion of investment in water infrastructure and water company bosses claiming huge bonuses will tackle the problem.

But Peter Jull, chairman of Deal and Walmer Chamber of Trade (DWCT), told KentOnline the work is urgently needed to overturn the low rating and improve the town’s standing.

He told KentOnline: “It is not helping now as we are already in the holiday booking season and the rating can only have a detrimental effect on that.“

He stressed the poor reading from one spike in pollution levels brings down the area’s multi-year rolling average, even when there are better water quality readings at other times of the year.

Mr Jull wrote to the government last month complaining about the impact these readings were having on local businesses in the town - replicated in other parts of Kent which have suffered bad ratings.

His letter said: “DWCT represents the interests of local businesses in the hospitality trade that rely on incoming tourists to prosper and provide local employment.

“Having notices displayed asserting that our beaches are not safe because of poor seawater quality and an alert marker on a government website is detrimental to the town’s reputation and has an adverse impact on the local economy.

“Even a schoolboy mathematician could see the inherent flaws in the current policy.”

The government is now being told it must step up its efforts to ensure water companies figure out the plan and ensure it deals with the issue.

Speaking to KentOnline following Mr Reed’s visit, Emily Groves of Save Our Seas Deal and Walmer said: “The new law isn't going to achieve anything in the short term or the long term for the people of Deal. They still don't know if the water is safe to swim in.

“With the investment, presumably that’s across all of Southern Water assets. How do we know where what and when will be fixed?

“Will the ongoing issue with the annual pollution incident in Deal be fixed by this investment?

“If the water companies were in public hands, then a new framework would mean that local people would have a say in how the £104bn investment was spent.

“With the water companies still in private ownership, we have no idea what any investment would actually be spent on and we wouldn't be consulted.”

Visiting the town yesterday (Tuesday), Steve Reed, Secretary of State for Environment, Food, and Rural Affairs, told KentOnline: “You've got pollution here in Deal but actually we have record levels of sewage pollution in our waterways all over the country.

“We've passed a law to ban the payment of the unfair multi-million-pound bonuses for water bosses awarding themselves for overseeing this environmental catastrophe.

“We've made sure that there will be accountability for lawbreakers inside the water companies who will now face the full force of the law, potentially even jail time.

“And we've secured over £104 billion of private sector investment to start cleaning up our broken water and sewage infrastructure.

“That's the biggest investment in history into the water sector. It means that we will be able to stop the flow of sewage into our waterways so businesses, visitors, local people will not need to worry about what might be in the water when they get in and out.”

Dover and Deal Labour MP Mike Tapp responded to the question of what happens with tourism this summer.

He told KentOnline: “I've spent the last few months in constant communication with Southern Water and the Environment Agency (EA).

“This is so we can find a solution to this before the tourists want to go into our sea.

“I'm looking for that solution to ensure we can get people into the seas as soon as we possibly can.”

Deal and Walmer were hit with a major blow last November when Deal Castle Beach was downgraded to “poor” following investigations by the EA.

A no-swim warning was issued and the town’s annual Boxing Day Dip was cancelled.

Southern Water, which is responsible for public wastewater collection in Kent, blamed “holiday homes with poor plumbing” for contributing to the fall in quality.

Pressure group SOSDAW was formed in January to lobby and campaign for improvements with its first meeting that month seeing 130 residents cramming in Walmer Parish Hall.

A mass protest march was also held through Deal town centre the following month.

An EA spokesperson now said: “More than 400 locations across England met the required standard for bathing in 2024, over double the figure 30 years ago.

“Bathing waters are hugely important for communities and for the environment, and we know there is growing public demand for designated bathing sites across the country.

“Deal Castle has been identified as a priority bathing water. Our specialist officers are working with Southern Water and Dover District Council to find ways to improve bathing water quality along the south-east Kent coast.

“Suspected pollution comes from a variety of sources. The public can find out where best to swim by getting the latest information on water quality at Deal Castle, the rest of Kent and England at our Swimfo website.”

A Dover District Council spokesperson said: “The impact of the poor bathing water results from the Environment Agency at Deal is significant and wide-reaching.

“The quality of beaches and waters within our district is pivotal to our environment, leisure and economy. DDC continues to work with the EA and Southern Water and to push for improvement and action.”