Sedgemoor bathing water quality

The beaches at Burnham on Sea, Berrow and Brean are monitored for Bathing Water Quality by the Environment Agency between May and September. This allows the Environment Agency to classify each beach in accordance with EU Bathing Water directives.

Bathing waters at designated beaches are sampled and tested by the Environment Agency as part of the requirements under the new EU (European Union) Bathing Water Directive (2006/7/EC) which came into force in 2006. This directive includes a new sampling and testing regime which is twice as strict as the previous directive. It also requires the Environment Agency to publish profiles for all bathing waters in England and Wales. These profiles describe the bathing water, sources of pollution and management measures and the location of the sampling point. Each designated beach in Europe will receive a bathing water classification.

The detailed Environment Agency bathing water profiles for Burnham, Berrow and Brean can be found on the Environment Agency website. Signs are also in place at beach entrances which indicate the bathing water classifications as either ‘Excellent’, ‘Good’ or ‘Poor’.

The current bathing water classifications for each beach are detailed in the table below:

To find out more about the work the council and partners are completing for bathing water, visit Litter Free Coast and Sea Somerset or phone 02920 874 713 or follow @LFSCSomerset on Twitter or litterfreesomerset on Facebook.

West Somerset bathing water quality

Bathing water quality at the beaches of Minehead, Porlock, Dunster and Blue Anchor is monitored by the Environment Agency with EU star ratings assigned for each beach.

We maintain signs at each of these beaches displaying the EU star ratings, with a brief description. The signs include warnings by date, when sewers are forecast to be discharging into the sea and when it is advisable not to bathe.

We work closely with the local community, including the RNLI , local parish council, and private landowners to make sure the information on the signs is current.

To help with ensuring the quality of the most popular beach in the Minehead area, there is a ban on dogs during the main bathing season, between 15 May and 30 September.

Anyone interested in tackling the problem of pollution of the marine environment is encouraged to take part in a Beachwatch event.

Help to improve bathing water quality

• Bag and bin dog poo.
• Remember the three p’s: only pee, poo and paper should be flushed down the toilet, everything else should go in a bin.
• Do not put fats, oils and grease down the sink, it can cause blockages. Let fats cool, then scrape or pour into your food waste bin for recycling or into a non-recyclable container and put in your household waste wheelie bin.
• Take all picnic food and litter home with you or dispose in bins.
• Follow the steps on the Connect Right website to make sure your home plumbing is connected correctly and learn what to do if you find a problem.
• Chemical toilets such as those used in touring caravans and on camp sites must only be emptied in a specifically designated place to avoid the contents being deposited straight into the sewerage system. Caravan and camp sites usually have their own Chemical Disposal Point. If there is no official emptying point then the contents should be flushed down a normal toilet, which may mean taking it back home. Chemical toilet waste should never be deposited directly into a watercourse.
• Farms can also be a major source of river and sea pollution. The use of fertilisers on the land and pollution from animal waste can result in run-off from fields and into watercourses. The Environment Agency is working closely with farmers to identify where these incidents could affect water quality.