Sea water quality 'excellent' in St Aubin, government says

Islanders were seen swimming in the ocean on Thursday evening, despite the warning signs

Testing of sea water in St Aubin's Bay shows the quality is "excellent", the government has said.

Islanders were advised not to swim in the bay "as a precaution" as routine tests found higher levels of bacteria in the water.

The government has still advised islanders not to swim, with results of further testing expected on Saturday.

Organisers of the Jersey Triathlon on Sunday have contingency plans for a duathlon with just running and cycling.

Jersey Triathlon organisers have contingency plans for a duathlon

The government blamed a lack of rainfall, hot weather and high levels of ammonia for the pollution.

Environment Minister Jonathan Renouf said he was "pleased" with the latest results which suggested that the water from the sewage treatment works was "being quickly dispersed and diluted in the bay".

But "poor findings" from an undiluted outfall sample had confirmed that water coming from the plant was "not yet up to standard", he said.

"We need to wait for colleagues in the Infrastructure team to confirm that the issues have been resolved at the plant itself, before we can change the advice around swimming," he said.

"We also need to do more testing of sea water to back up the findings from this week's samples.

"We're taking a precautionary approach, and the safety of islanders must be our priority."

Signs advising people not to swim in St Aubin's bay were erected on Thursday

Andrew Thomas, managing director of triathlon organiser 3D Events, told BBC News that waiting for the results on Saturday morning was "frustrating".

If the water quality was not up to standard it was preparing to hold a duathlon instead.

"We're thinking of our competitors," he said.

"They've trained all year long for a triathlon, they want to do a triathlon, and we're here taking them to the wire on whether it will be a triathlon.

"Our focus now has to be on producing a good event, whatever we do, something that our competitors can take away, enjoy and have a great time."

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