Report on the English Bathing Waters in Need Of
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Surfers Against Sewage Are Calling For A Review of the UK’s Bathing Water Sample Sites. Surfers Against Sewage (SAS) believe the weekly bathing water samples required by the EU Bathing Water Directive should be taken from the area of the bathing water that presents bathers and water users with the greatest source of pollution, if a significant amount of bathers and recreational water users can be expected to regularly use that are area of beach. Surfers Against Sewage are concerned that a number the UK’s designated bathing water sample spots around the UK do not provide a true guide to the water quality that a bather or water user might experience at our bathing waters. The implications are incredible concerning, as our widely promoted water quality results could be misleading the public about the potential health risk at a number of the UK’s bathing water. The Bathing Water Directive states (Art3.3) the monitoring point should be where most bathers are expected or the greatest risk of pollution is expected, according to the bathing water profile. In the UK Regulations (Schedule 4.1) Defra have transposed the obligation to locate the monitoring point where the most bathers are expected. This was part of the original transposition The European Commission’s Reference Document for the monitoring and assessment requirements of the revised Bathing Water Directive published August 2014 states: • A bathing water is not defined by its physical size. The length of its corresponding beach can vary between bathing waters and the distribution of bathers within a bathing water can be uneven. If there are, or could be, significant differences in water quality within any discrete area, then appropriate measures (such as ensuring monitoring targets the area presenting the greatest risk to bathers, or sub-dividing the area into separately identified bathing waters) must be taken. • A single location for collecting a sample should be designated regardless of the length of a bathing beach provided it is representative of the quality of the entire bathing water and a large numbers of bathers are distributed evenly along a bathing beach. Where large numbers of bathers are distributed unevenly along the length of a beach or a bathing water does not meet the requirements of uniform water quality that would satisfy the conditions for a grouped bathing water, it must be separated into individual bathing waters. This document contains the bathing waters SAS are calling for a sample spot review in England. Coastal observations suggest the majority of beach users utilize the areas surrounding the entrance to the beach. Only the minority seems to arrive at the beach and walk a significant distance from the main access route/car park/infrastructure. For this reason the recommendations given below are not only based around local knowledge from SAS’s extensive regional rep network but also the positioning of car parks, beach access routes, cafes, shops, lifeguard huts etc. There are 16 sites highlighted for review in this document and their regional distribution are shown below: SW S E NE NW Croyde St Helens Ingoldme Bamburgh Blackpool lls South Castle Central Fistral Swanage Scarborough South Bay Godrevy Redcar Lifeboat Station The Newbiggin Towans North (Hayle) Porthleven Whitley Bay Budleigh Salterton Dawlish Town Surfers Against Sewage recommendation to review the sampling point at Bamburgh Castle Background Bamburgh Castle is a gently sloping, long (2.5km), sandy beach with a large area of sand exposed at low tide. The beach is bordered by rocky outcrops with rock pools and is set within an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty with views across to Farne Island, a National Nature Reserve. The Mill Burn stream flows across the northern end of the beach. Perched behind the beach, standing guard, is Bamburgh Castle built on a volcanic outcrop. Facilities are limited due to the remoteness of this beach with just toilets, parking and a café/restaurant available. Swimming, fishing, surfing, kitesurfing, windsurfing and rock pooling are all popular here. Consistent, surfable waves can be found at this exposed beach with offshore winds blowing from the SW and ideal swells coming from the NE. Two sewer overflows discharge into the Mill Burn further upstream which then flows across the beach to the sea. Reasons for proposed change The sampling point is located in front of the eastern end of Bamburgh Castle in the centre of the beach. However, due to the location of two car parks at the western end of the beach and several major beach access routes (see maps below) this would seem to indicate that this is a main bathing area. This would not be a problem if it were not for the fact that the Mill Burn stream flows to the beach from between the car parks and straight down through the main bathing region. As explained above, there are two storm and an emergency overflow that discharge further upstream. Approx. 600m A CSO discharges further upstream into the Mill Burn which flows across a popular bathing area to the sea Two car parks and several Approximate sampling point main beach access routes are located either side of the mouth of the Mill Burn into Recommendation Recommended sampling which a number of CSOs point discharge. Based on the information provided above, we would recommend that the sampling point is moved further to the west of the beach to incorporate the main bathing region. Surfers Against Sewage recommendation to review the sampling point at Blackpool Central Background Blackpool Central, located close to the centre of this busy seaside resort, is flat sandy beach between Blackpool South and Central Piers. It is backed by a high sea wall and promenade. Facilities are in abundance here; kiosks, shops, cafes, restaurants, pubs, bars, deck chair hire, a slipway, toilets, parking, amusements and arcades. Kitesurfing and windsurfing are by far the most common watersports carried out here while swimming, bathing, canoeing and kayaking are also popular. Surfing here is similar to this whole stretch with average quality waves to be found in the right conditions; offshore in E winds. A sewer overflow discharges straight onto the beach around the centre of this beach - the sewerage facilities of the area were upgraded in 2010. Reasons for proposed change Blackpool is possibly the most famous seaside resort in the UK and well known throughout the world. This makes it incredibly popular and Central Beach is no exception. However there is approximately 500m between the sampling point and a sewer overflow which is located on the site of a very popular bathing region. A sewer overflow discharges in front of a popular bathing region. The recommended outcome, this stretch be re-designated as two bathing waters with two sampling points. The sampling point is around 500m from the CSO and bathing region. Recommendation Based on the information provided above, we would recommend that, due to the popularity of this stretch of coastline, the beach be re-designated as a number of bathing waters to best serve bathers/water users. Surfers Against Sewage recommendation to review the sampling point at Budleigh Salterton Background With its famous large, smooth pebbles playing an integral part in its designation as an Ancient World Heritage Coastline, Budleigh Salterton is a 2km stretch of resort beach with red cliffs at the western end and the River Otter Estuary at the eastern and backed by a promenade and the town. Cafes, restaurants, shops, toilets and parking are all available here. Swimming, sea canoeing and kayaking, windsurfing, fishing and snorkelling are all carried out at this popular beach resort. There are three sewer overflows discharging around Budleigh Salterton. One discharges directly onto the beach, one 400m east of the bathing water and another that discharges to the sea 1.3km away. Reasons for proposed change There is a large car park, a main beach access route, a cafe and a line of beach huts around 400m to the east of the sampling point. At the same spot is a river into which a CSO discharges further upstream. There is also another stream to the east of this and a CSO that discharges on the other side of a small headland. The sampling point, however is several hundred metres to the west. Sampling spot CSOs/streams Recommended sampling point, much closer to the main car park and bathing area and CSO Recommendation Based on the information provided above, we would recommend that the sampling point be moved further to the east which seems to be much more popular with bathers and water users. Surfers Against Sewage recommendation to review the sampling point at Crantock Background Crantock, on the north coast of Cornwall is a wide, sandy beach backed by dunes with a river running across its northern end. Parking, restaurants, toilets, beach shops, pubs and a café are available here along with camping and caravan sites. Swimming, bathing, snorkelling, fishing, windsurfing, canoeing and surfing are all very popular here. A sandbar to the north of the beach offers, powerful, fast right hand waves while the, river mouth sand bar is popular with longboarders. There is also a rare left in the southern corner in large swells. Crantock is offshore in SE winds. Three sewer overflows surround Crantock - one discharges into the River Gannel 500m upstream of the beach, one from the West Pentire pumping station on the SW side of the beach and another that discharges to the Gannel much closer to the beach. Reasons for proposed change The sampling spot at this beach is surrounded by sewer overflows with one 700m to the south, one further inland and another that discharges into the River Gannel at the northern end of the beach some 350m north of the sampling point.