Bathers to be hit by stricter sea water standards

Three beaches in Yorkshire, Bridlington South Beach, along with Staithes and Robin Hood’s Bay, are predicted to receive a “poor” rating under the EU Bathing water directive.

The three meet the current legal minimum standard, but from 2015 all bathing waters must meet standards about twice as strict as they are now.

Yorkshire Water’s £40m investment in Bridlington is part of £110m worth of improvements to its sewerage network and will involve a new pumping station being built on the promenade and a new sea out-fall for storm water, which would normally go into the Gypsey Race.

The firm is holding a public exhibition on Tuesday May 15 at Bridlington Spa. Work is due to start in October and finish in 2014.

A spokeswoman said: “We are confident that this work will make a big improvement to the quality of water at both Bridlington North and South beaches and bring benefits to the town and its tourist industry.”

Peter Stevenson, from the Environment Agency, said Staithes – where some homes and holiday cottages are plumbed into the wrong system – represents the toughest challenge. Costs to put everything right could be between £10m and £20m.

He said: “Although Staithes did meet the current mandatory standard in 2011, we still have significant bacteria levels there; there’s a little bit of sewage there from domestic properties and some of it is agricultural.”

The EA is visiting farmers in the catchment and has commissioned a study with YW looking at a possible solution – putting a hole through the harbour wall to dilute the water where people bathe. Scarborough Borough Council and North Yorkshire County Council are also involved.

Mr Stevenson said: “Staithes is a real challenge - whether or not we can get everything done before 2015 will be interesting. We are asking a lot of people to do quite a bit of work and the current economic circumstances mean they don’t necessarily have the cash.”

The Marine Conservation Society, which yesterday gave 16 beaches in Yorkshire awards for excellent water quality, as part of its annual Good Beach Guide, said it was important councils, water companies and regulators “didn’t become complacent”.

Last year’s results were the best in the MCS’s 25-year history, with an eight per cent increase in the number of beaches making the excellent grade. They included Withernsea, Tunstall, Skipsea, Fraisthorpe, Wilsthorpe, Bridlington North Beach, Flamborough South Landing, Danes Dyke, Reighton, Filey, Cayton Bay, Scarborough North Bay, Whitby, Sandsend and Runswick Bay.

Robin Hood’s Bay was included because the MCS standards used 2011 data, whereas the EU directive uses four summers’ worth of data – and that was poor in three of the last four years.

MCS coastal pollution officer, Rachel Wyatt said: “This is a milestone for coastal resorts to be proud of and shows the impact of the Guide over the last 25 years. However, this summer will see the first samples taken under the revised bathing water directive which will replace the current standards with far more stringent ones from 2015.

“It’s really important that local authorities, water companies and environmental regulators don’t become complacent and take their collective feet off the pedal of continued environmental improvements. If that happens we could see a drop in the number of beaches recommended by us in the future, which could pose a risk to the great reputation that British beaches have.”