Sewage was again found washing up on south shore beaches yesterday, despite a raft of apparent efforts by Government and the Corporation of Hamilton to resolve the issue.

The balls of sewage, which Government has said are coming from the Seabright sewage outfall, could be found along the entirety of Grape Bay beach, as well as the Eastern section of Elbow Beach, although in far less quantities. It is the second time in less than three months that sewage has been found washing ashore.

However, last night a Environment Ministry spokeswoman said: “Beach checks have been performed on all South shore beaches and all beaches were found to be satisfactory. Beaches were checked each day.

“The Royal Gazette report of grease balls on Grape Bay on July 2 has not yet been verified.”

The spokeswoman said the results of water testing from Tuesday can be viewed online at http://goo.gl/AkCBqs, and water testing will be conducted again today with the results posted online tomorrow.

In April, when the sewage balls were first noted coming ashore this year, then Minister for the Environment Trevor Moniz announced plans to introduce an emergency warning system to alert the public whenever sewage was found washing ashore and when pollution levels in the surrounding waters hit dangerous levels. No warning was forthcoming yesterday regarding the presence of sewage.

Steps to keep the public informed were taken after The Royal Gazette exposed a 2013 study that warned of “intermittent contamination” of south shore waters due to the sewage outfall, creating a “public health hazard” and rendering the beaches “unfit for recreational use”. However Mr Moniz maintained that the presence of sewage on beaches “does not necessarily mean the water is contaminated.”

On a daily basis, Bermuda disposes of up to one million gallons of municipal sewage via an offshore disposal system, the Seabright outfall, located 700m offshore and 10m below the surface just to the west of the Hungry Bay area in Devonshire. While in normal conditions prevailing winds and tides disperse the sewage into deeper waters with “negligible” effects, according to the Bermuda Institute of Ocean Sciences, winds and swell can combine to push the sewage inshore and onto local beaches.

The sewage mixes with kitchen grease disposed of by Hamilton restaurants, coagulating into golf-ball sized lumps that are then washed onto shore. While the sewage balls could easily be mistaken for tar, once opened the smell of faeces is overwhelming. One source close to the 2013 study described them as “human waste wrapped in a grease raincoat”.

Compared to the so-called “greaseballs” that were reported washing ashore in April, the bluish grey balls found on beaches yesterday were noticeably smaller in size but just as numerous.

Shadow Minister for the Environment Glenn Blakeney called the situation “challenging”.

“Obviously it’s quite a concern to everyone — not the least of which are tourists — particularly since it’s been a front centre issue highlighted by US Consul General [in a public warning to US travellers]”, said Mr Blakeney.

“It doesn’t bode well for the country when an issue has been identified and there’s no rectifying of the problem.”

Mr Blakeney empathised with the position the sewage pipeline problems present to Bermuda and the Government, but added that “there is no excuse for the due diligence not being done”.

“It’s a double edge sword. You have a public announcement that there would be a warning system to prevent the kinds of concerns that were expressed previously, but at the same time you risk being alarmist.”

Calling on Government to show “genuine commitment” to resolving the issue, Mr Blakeney said Government must “do all that is necessary in the earliest possible course to resolve the entire situation” or risk damaging an already suffering tourism industry.

“If that requires investment and new infrastructure by the City of Hamilton in conjunction with Government, that is what is necessary.”

Following this newspaper’s reports on the issue, a treatment plant at the King Edward VII Memorial Hospital has been brought “online”, while the Ministry of Health and Environment have instituted a raft of prevention measures, including the publishing of water quality samples on the Government website, and increased scrutiny on how restaurants in Hamilton dispose of grease.

Government has said it will also look into boosting the treatment procedure at the Tynes Bay Septage Facility, and invest in a new plant there — as well as “investigating” the extension of the pipe at Seabright.

Twelve years since The Royal Gazette first reported on the presence of sewage balls on local beaches, however, the song remains the same.

“Right now the engineers at the Corporation of Hamilton are trying to figure out how to make a concerted effort to remove grease from the outfall system so that it doesn’t get through,” said Environmental Health Officer George Simons in 2002.