South West Water has said an alert showing an apparent sewage discharge at Flushing Pumping Station was caused by high spring tides and not an actual release of sewage.
The company's live map showed the station had discharged within the previous 48 hours, with the event listed as starting at 5.31 pm on Thursday, August 13, and ending at 6.44 pm.
However, a South West Water spokesperson said the activation was recorded by monitoring equipment during very high tides in the area.
They said: "This activation is due to the very high tides in the area.
"The activation at Flushing SPS is not actual sewage discharge, but the spring tides causing the EDM to record a false activation.
"All assets in the area have been checked and are operating as expected."
The utility's Event Duration Monitors, known as EDMs, are designed to indicate when an overflow may be active and how long it has operated, rather than the volume of wastewater released.
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South West Water says the monitors can occasionally be triggered without a discharge taking place, including by small obstructions or conditions such as twigs, spider webs, bubbles, and foam.
The company said its online map displays near real-time information received from monitors before an investigation has established the reason for an activation.
Confirmed false readings are removed from the published data, it said.
The alert remained visible on Surfers Against Sewage's sewage map, which retains data online for 48 hours and presents information received from water-company monitoring systems.
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