Sewage: Seventeen places you should not swim today

The UK is finally enjoying a spate of warm weather this bank holiday weekend, with parts of the country seeing temperatures of 20°C and above.

Therefore, you might be tempted to dive into the UK hot streak.

However, it’s worth doing your research beforehand, as the Environment Agency regularly provides up-to-date information on water quality across the country.

The Swimfo website features an interactive map that highlights areas where the EA advises against swimming. Annual assessments classify each site as Excellent, Good, Fair, or Poor based on measurements over a period of up to four years.

The campaign group Surfers Against Sewage provides a similar map that also shows recent sewage discharges. Below we look at over a dozen places in the UK where you should think twice before taking a dip, whether it’s due to sewage issues or poor bathing conditions.

Blackpool North

Blackpool North sandy beach is opposite Blackpool Tower and between Central and North Piers. The water quality here was rated as fair in 2018 and 2021 and good in 2019, but fell to poor last year.

Bognor Regis (Aldwick)

Aldwick is mostly a shingle beach with some sand exposed at low tide. There are eight sewage spillways dotted the length of this beach and several more to the east and west. In 2019 and 2021 the water was rated as good, but in 2022 it experienced a dramatic drop to poor.

Bridlington South Beach

Bridlington South Beach has a sewage spillway that empties directly onto the beach, while a long sea spillway was built in 2014 to carry Gypsy Race sewage 1.1 km (0.7 miles) into the sea. Water quality deteriorated sharply last year after previous assessments found it to be adequate.

Burnham Jetty North

In 2020, due to ongoing water quality concerns, the Environment Agency issued a warning against swimming at Burnham-on-Sea’s main beach, and it remains so three years later.

The agency’s environmental manager, Jim Flory, said at the time: “The Environment Agency has strongly discouraged bathing at Burnham Jetty in Burnham-On-Sea. This notice is issued under the Bathing Water Regulations because Burnham’s water quality has been rated as ‘poor’ for five consecutive bathing seasons.”

Clacton (Gyne 41)

This is another area where the EA has consistently discouraged bathing. The Essex place has been found to have been bad for five years in a row.

The agency previously suspected that pigeons were partly to blame for the conditions, with birds dropping their droppings into the water when nesting under the pier.

Hazy Northwest

Dunster North West is a large, chalet-lined shingle and sandy beach overlooking the Bristol Channel, to the east of the popular seaside resort of Minehead. In the middle of this beach, a sewage overflow empties directly into the sea. Bathing is discouraged as the previously adequate water quality has dropped to poor in 2022.

Heacham

Heacham or Stubborn Sands is a gently sloping sandy beach in front of a popular seaside resort in Norfolk. The sea is cloudy here because the tidal movements stir up the sediment. There are no sewage spillways that flow directly onto the beach, but there are long and short sea outlets at Hunstanton.

In 2018 and 2019, the water quality was considered sufficient, but in the last two years it has dropped to poor.

Ilfracombe Wildersmouth

Wildersmouth beach is another spot in Devon where the EA has consistently discouraged bathing. In 2017 alone, 42 warnings were issued against swimming because of the pollution hazard.

instant

Instow in North Devon is not a bathing beach and the public is advised not to swim, says the local council. It’s another location that consistently has poor water quality, and the EA doesn’t believe it will meet the minimum standard anytime soon.

The council also warns: “Dog owners should remember that contaminants in water that are potentially harmful to humans are also potentially harmful to dogs.”

Kinghorn (harbor beach)

Bathers are advised not to enter the waters of Harbor Beach in Kinghorn, Scotland as the annual classification is poor. The beach is a mixture of sand and rock pools and cliffs and stretches for around 500 m.

Scarborough South Bay

Scarborough South Bay is a long stretch of sandy beach just below shore – and in one of Britain’s most famous seaside towns. There is a sewage overflow that leads directly to the beach, two more are located 800 m and 2.5 km from the bathing water. Water quality was rated fair in 2021, but dropped back to poor the following year.

St Mary’s Bay (Kent)

St. Mary’s Bay is a pebble beach with large areas of sand. There are no sewage spillways that flow directly into St Marys Bay, however there are sewage spillways nearby. In 2018, the water quality was considered good, but the following year it dropped to fair and last year to poor.

Tynemouth Cullercoats

The beach is surrounded by piers at each end, meaning it is a sheltered cove. Although no sewage spillways discharge directly at Tynemouth Cullercoats, there are discharges into the River Tyne, which empties into the sea just south of the bathing waters. Since 2018, the water quality here has been rated as poor every year.

Weston super Mare Sand Bay

A sand and shingle beach resort in North Somerset, approximately 3 miles wide and surrounded by sand dunes. There is a salt marsh at the north end and Sand Point Headland is a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI). The outflow from Weston-super-Mare STW enters the sea at Black Rock, 5 km south of Sand Bay. Water quality was rated good in 2018, falling to fair the following year and poor last year.

Weston Main

Located near the popular seaside town of Weston-super-Mare, the main beach is a large sandy beach with a pier. Two sewage spillways flow directly into the sea here – one at the northern end of the beach and one 2 km to the south. Bathing water quality can also be affected by discharges from the surrounding urban catchment area. In 2019 it was rated as fair, but in the last two years it fell to “poor”.

Quay at Cromwheel

The short 160m stretch of the River Wharfe that flows through the West Yorkshire town of Ilkley is popular with swimmers and paddlers. One of these beaches has a waste water disposal point in the designated bathing area. Poor water quality was detected in 2021 and 2022.

Wolvercote Mill Stream

The Wolvercote Mill Stream is a bifurcation of the Thames, splitting from the main channel above King’s Lock and rejoining below Godstow Lock. In the last water quality classification in 2022, the water quality was classified as poor and bathing is not recommended.