Somerset beaches given poor bathing water rating for second year

A poor rating has been given to bathing water at Weston-super-Mare and other nearby beaches

Bathing waters in parts of Somerset have been rated poor with little sign of improvement by the Environment Agency.

The rating has been applied to Sand Bay and Weston-super-Mare's main beach for the second year in a row.

Meanwhile the water quality at Uphill, which was classified as sufficient in 2022, has also deteriorated and been rated poor.

But bathing water quality at Clevedon remains rated as good.

The latest bathing water quality results have been published by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra).

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.

North Somerset Council, which is part of a Bathing Water Steering Group, said it was working with other organisations to find and tackle the cause of the poor samples, and take action to improve water quality.

'Disappointing'

James Clayton, North Somerset Council's executive member with responsibility for environmental protection, said: "I'm really pleased that Clevedon has continued to meet Defra standards.

"Obviously, it's disappointing to hear about Uphill but we'll continue doing everything we can to make sure everyone can enjoy our beaches, seafront and bathing waters.

"It's hard to pinpoint definitive causes because of the complex nature of the Severn Estuary. There's likely to be an impact from farming at certain times, contamination coming from surface water drains, birds, sea front activity and other urban sources."

Ruth Barden, director of environmental solutions for Wessex Water, said the company had invested "millions of pounds" at Weston-super-Mare to ensure sewage was treated to a standard that protected bathing water quality.

"While we do have two storm overflows that could possibly affect water quality at Weston Uphill and Weston Main beaches, one did not operate at all and the other operated just three times during the bathing water season during wet weather, releasing predominantly rainwater," she added.

"Samples taken after one of these discharges showed the results for Uphill and Main were 'excellent' and 'good', so this is unlikely to have impacted bathing water quality."

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