A STATEMENT from National Resources Wales (NRW) has said that in Wales, 98 per cent of designated bathing waters met its own “stringent” environmental standards.
NRW said that 80 of its 109 designated bathing waters achieved the highest classification of ‘excellent’. The previous year, 2022, 85 out of 106 were excellent.
An ‘excellent’ classification is one of the essential criteria for obtaining a Blue Flag accreditation.
In Barry and Penarth, only Cold Knap qualified for the excellent rating. Penarth Beach and Whitmore Bay were, with Jackson’s Bay classed as sufficient.
Watch House Bay in Barry, which is popular with open water swimmers, was rated ‘poor’.
Further down the Heritage Coast, Col-Huw Beach (Llantwit Major) and Southerndown were excellent but Ogmore-by-Sea was rated as poor. Local campaigners will note that this beach is downriver from the sewage works.
Porthcawl swimmers could, perhaps, feel a bit smug, with Trecco Bay, Sandy Bay and Rest Bay all rated excellent.
The Welsh Government Climate Change Minister, Julie James MS, said: “Wales is recognised internationally as having some of the best beaches and water quality in Europe, and high bathing water quality is vital to continue supporting valuable outdoor water recreation opportunities.
“We will continue to work with local communities and water companies to identify what action is needed to meet and exceed the required standards.”
Clare Pillman, Chief Executive of Natural Resources Wales, said: “We are entirely committed to protecting and improving the quality of our coastal waters and rivers for people and nature, and each year, a tremendous amount of unseen work takes place to tackle sources of pollution across the country.
“While we celebrate our spectacular coastline and world-class beaches, we know that now is a pivotal time for change, not complacency. There is still much work to be done to safeguard our bathing waters.”
An NRW spokesperson said: “Bathing water quality reporting is highly perceptible to climatic changes, in particular, periods of heavy rainfall and with our changing climate, we must be prepared to deal with impacts of longer, heavier bouts of rain on a regular basis.
“Wales already receives more rainfall on average than other parts of the UK and this year was no exception. In July, Wales received 191 per cent of its long-term average rainfall and was followed by 125 per cent during August and September.
“Last year, over the same period, Wales experienced the driest seven-month period in 150 years.
“It is disappointing that our two newly designated bathing waters received poor classifications. Natural Resources Wales is working with stakeholders to investigate the causes with a view to identifying where improvements can be made.”
The two newly designated bathing waters that were classed as poor were Watch House Bay and Ogmore-by-Sea.
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