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The findings are announced annually and are based on samples taken by the Environment Agency during the bathing water season between May and September each year. Readings can vary due to weather, pollution and storm water overflows.
In today’s announcement, it has been revealed that the water quality results are the same as last year, with Sand Bay, Weston and Uphill all recorded as ‘poor’. Whereas Clevedon remains ‘good’.
The council is part of a Bathing Water Steering Group along with the Environment Agency, Wessex Water, Cleaner Coastlines and other partners. Together, the organisations are continuing work to understand the bathing water quality results, find and tackle the cause of the poor samples, and take action to improve water quality.
DEFRA has recently launched a consultation on reforming Bathing Water Quality Regulations and is encouraging people to give their views. In their current form, the Regulations take a generally ‘one-size-fits-all’ approach to bathing water designations and water quality monitoring.
Reforming the Regulations will hopefully allow for greater consideration of the site-specific factors influencing water quality in the estuary. Currently all bathing waters regardless of where they are located, are automatically de-designated following five consecutive years of receiving a ‘poor’ classification.
Debbie Apted from Cleaner Coastlines said: “Five years is proving too short a time frame for investments and improvements in the estuary to work. We therefore welcome more time at Sand Bay, Weston and Uphill to avoid de-designation. There are many people who enjoy the waters in our area all year round and we hope that the outcome of DEFRA’s consultation will allow for greater consideration of the complex site-specific factors that affect bathing water quality.”
Cllr James Clayton, North Somerset Council’s executive member with responsibility for environmental protection, said: “It’s encouraging to see that Clevedon has continued to meet DEFRA standards. Naturally we would hope that Sand Bay, Weston and Uphill would also be classified higher, but we will do all we can to ensure that our beaches and lakes are safe to use.
“It’s likely to have been a similar reason to last year - heavy rain in the summer can create run off which causes pollution. Also farming has an impact as well as contamination coming from surface water drains, birds, sea front activity and other urban sources.”
North Somerset Council’s Director of Public Health, Matt Lenny, said: “These ratings are based on a statistical measure of all samples over a four-year period so whilst we would hope they would improve, the picture hasn’t changed from last year. There are no pass/fail standards for individual water samples. A sample simply tells us the quality of the water at that specific time, but water can change even over the course of one day.
"We would advise anyone swimming to look at the active signage system we have in place at Weston’s main beach which uses a prediction forecast to let swimmers know if there’s potential for lower water quality in real time. Please stay informed so you can choose how best to enjoy your time on our coastline.”
Ruth Barden, Director of Environmental Solutions for Wessex Water, said: “We’re disappointed that the three Weston bathing waters have again been classified as poor, despite the ongoing and collaborative work undertaken by different organisations.
“While we have two storm overflows which could potentially impact on water quality, only one of these operated during the bathing season. This occurred following extremely wet weather, at the end of September, releasing mostly rainwater to prevent flooding.
“Wessex Water has invested heavily in improved sewage treatment in and around Weston-super-Mare, and the results of extensive bacterial testing we’ve carried out at our water recycling centres – shared with the EA – indicate no discernible impact on bathing water quality at the three beaches.”
Jim Flory, Wessex Area Environment Manager at the Environment Agency, said: “We are committed to improving water quality at Weston-Super-Mare’s beaches. This task will require the combined efforts of all partners not just to find any sources that damages water quality but to stop them.
“This bathing water season our officers have checked water company sewage discharges, inspected farms, taken to the sky with drones, sampled from the sea with hovercrafts and our boots on the ground have clocked up over 130 miles of patrolling Weston’s beaches.
“Many people enjoy time in or on coastal waters. They bring value not just economically but are also rich in social, health and wellbeing benefits. It’s vital that bathing water quality is maintained and improved.”
Cllr Annemeike Waite, North Somerset Council’s executive member with responsibility for climate, waste and sustainability said: “All of us have a part to play in improving water quality. For example, putting litter in the bin or taking it home to dispose of properly, only taking dogs to areas where they’re allowed and always cleaning up after them and not flushing inappropriate items down the loo, which ultimately blocks sewers and causes them to overflow.”
The Environment Agency’s Swimfo website allows bathers to check information on over 400 bathing waters in England. Search Swimfo or go to https://environment.data.gov.uk/bwq/profiles/
DEFRA’s consultation on bathing water quality is also available online Reforms to The Bathing Water Regulations 2013 - GOV.UK