Get all your news in one place.
100’s of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
Wales Online
Wales Online
National
Lucy John

Warning issued as storm sewage discharged at some of Wales' most popular beaches

Storm sewage warnings are in place at four popular Welsh beaches. The warnings were issued by Surfers against Sewage's Safer Seas & Rivers Service, which looks at water quality at over 400 locations around UK rivers and coastlines.

On Monday (September 5) there were pollution warnings at a number of beaches on the west coast of the country. It came as Wales experienced a change from the hot and dry weather as an area of low pressure brought more unsettled rain and storms to Wales.

Natural Resources Wales warned that "rainfall could lead to localised flooding from drains, ditches and small streams which may be unable to cope with intense rainfall".

The warnings were issued by Safer Seas & Rivers Service (Safer Seas & Rivers Service)

Read more: Incredible pictures show heavy flooding in Cardiff after 'loudest ever' thunderstorm

Now, on Tuesday (September 6) grassroots movement Surfers against Sewage has updated its warnings to include a number of beaches affected specifically by sewage pollution. Here are the four affected beaches according to the map:

Rest Bay (Porthcawl)
"Pollution Alert: Storm sewage has been discharged from a sewer overflow in this location within the past 48 hours.
A bay and beach located near Porthcawl."

Wisemans Bridge (Pembrokeshire)
"Pollution Alert: Storm sewage has been discharged from a sewer overflow in this location within the past 48 hours.
This sandy beach measures approximately 500m across, faces south east over Carmarthen Bay and lies in front of a public car park and a popular pub. Discharges from combined sewer overflows occur within the vicinity of the bathing water especially after heavy rainfall."

Castle Beach (Tenby)
"Pollution Alert: Storm sewage has been discharged from a sewer overflow in this location within the past 48 hours."

Barafundle (Pembrokeshire)
"Pollution Alert: Storm sewage has been discharged from a sewer overflow in this location within the past 48 hours.
Measuring 70 metres in length, this sandy east facing beach is backed by Limestone cliffs, dunes and trees. The bay is owned by the National Trust and forms part of the Pembrokeshire Marine Special Area of Conservation. There are no Dwr Cymru assets in the Barafundle Catchment. There is a small sewage treatment works serving the village of Stackpole, one kilometre away. This is not known to influence bathing water quality at Barafundle."

A Welsh Water spokesperson said:

"Heavy rain hit large parts of Wales over the past few days which would have meant some of our combined storm overflows (CSOs) temporarily operated. This is what they are designed to do when the wastewater network in an area reaches capacity due to the volume of rainwater in it to prevent sewers from flooding customers’ homes and businesses.

"We have checked the CSOs which operated and found that they operated in compliance with our permit to operate them and as we always do with these CSOs we sent notifications to Surfers Against Sewage so that they were aware and could notify their members."

READ NEXT:

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100’s of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
One subscription that gives you access to news from hundreds of sites
Already a member? Sign in here
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.