Labour MP Peter Kyle and leader of Brighton and Hove City Council Bella Sankey have secured Southern Water funding for the project. 

This comes off the back of concerns over local sea water quality from recent years, notably Southern Water discharging sewage 45 times in 2022. 

Peter Kyle has said “Our seafront is the jewel in the crown of our amazing city, and we need to ensure it’s the destination for tourists, locals and every sea enthusiast… We all want polluters to be held accountable and evidence is invaluable to be able to do that.” 

The volunteers, many open water swimmers, include some of Peter Kyle’s constituency office staff. 

Volunteer Mark Cooper said: “The sea is one of our city’s greatest attractions, but we don’t know nearly as much about it as we’d like to… Meanwhile, people say they are less likely to swim and visit the seaside because of their concerns about water quality.” 

The effort will help to track and prevent sea-water pollution locally and could provide evidence to help find wider trends nationally.