Mother's fears after beach 'false alarm'

The sea at Whitmore Bay was evacuated on Saturday over water quality concerns

A mother-of-two says she has lost trust in Welsh Water after swimmers on a busy beach were ordered to "get out of the water" over sewage fears.

The red flag warning was raised over the tannoy at Whitmore Bay at Barry Island, Vale of Glamorgan, last weekend, while crowds of sunbathers and swimmers were enjoying the nice weather.

Hayley Graham, from Barry, who was at the beach on Saturday with her young daughters, said being told to evacuate the sea immediately was "alarming and confusing".

Welsh Water have apologised and said the warning was "a false alarm". But Hayley said it was part of "a bigger picture" of water pollution.

Hayley and her two daughters, aged one and eight, were "having a dip in the sea" when the lifeguards announced at about 16:00 BST "that the water quality was low and that we were to evacuate the water immediately".

The family packed up and left, washing thoroughly once they got home.

Hayley later became aware that Surfers Against Sewage had issued a warning that 19 destinations in Wales had been polluted by storm sewage or given a poor water classification.

She said learning the evacuation was a false alarm was "wonderful", but added she will be more "wary" of going to the beach in future.

Illegal discharges

"Our whole experience was ruined," she said.

"It's great that it's a false alarm this time - however, it does not take away from the fact we have now become more aware of all the illegal discharges over the last year.

"As a parent with very small children, we do use the beach quite often.

"I'm likely now to place my trust more in the charities and organisations like Surfers Against Sewage who seem to have our best interests at heart."

She called for water companies to become "more transparent" and for better communication.

"They're not keeping us informed," she said.

"Yes there might not have been sewage spilling into the water at that exact time we were in the sea, but it does not take away from the fact that quite regularly sewage is pumped into that very busy tourist area."

Regular water testing

A Welsh Water spokesperson said: “We are aware that the monitor on our overflow at Barry indicated that it was operating on Saturday afternoon.

"Our team has investigated and confirmed this was a false alarm caused by a fault with the monitor which can happen.

"Our team will now undertake work to correct the fault with the monitor and we would like to apologise for any confusion caused.”

In a statement the RNLI said: "Lifeguards at Whitmore Bay red flagged the beach and made announcements advising beach users not to enter the water.

"Welsh Water have today confirmed that Saturday’s overflow alert was a false alarm caused by a fault with their overflow monitor. They are now undertaking work to correct the fault with the monitor."

Mark Wilson from Vale of Glamorgan council said: “We’d like to reassure the public that regular testing of the water at Barry Island takes place and there is currently no reason to consider the water at Whitmore Bay to be unsafe.”