Across the North East, pollution warnings have been put in place to prevent swimming and surfing, after raw sewage has been dumped into the sea. 

Heavy rain over the last few days has meant that storm sewage has been discharged from sewer overflows across the region to prevent flooding. 

The sewage map, run by campaigners from Surfers Against Sewage, shows a number of active warnings are in place across the region, meaning that water quality has been reduced, so bathing, swimming and surfing an inadvisable.

As of Wednesday evening, there were 15 pollution warnings in place across the North East and North Yorkshire.

Why are pollution warnings put in place? 

According to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs website, Pollution Risks Warnings can be put in place in bathing waters when water quality is "temporarily reduced" for no more than 72 hours.

DEFRA says: "This is due to a number of factors which influence the levels of bacteria, or FIOs, in the water.

"We use Pollution Risk Forecasts (PRFs) to let people know when this happens. The factors that we use for PRFs are specific to each bathing water."

Some of the factors that influence PRFs are rainfall, tides, wind, sunlight, and sewage infrastructure. 

Read more: DEFRA committee calls for further North East sea life death tests

Which beaches have pollution warnings in place? 

 

Berwick-upon-Tweed, Spittal Beach, Northumberland

Pollution Alert: Storm sewage has been discharged from a sewer overflow in this location within the past 48 hours.
Spittal is a gently sloping sandy beach about 1km long, situated immediately south of the mouth of the River Tweed.

It is also an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. Within the catchment, there are a number of sewer overflows that discharge into the River Tweed.

Warkworth Beach, Alnmouth, Northumberland

Pollution Alert: Storm sewage has been discharged from a sewer overflow in this location within the past 48 hours.

Warkworth is a large, sandy, gently sloping, remote beach backed by an extensive sand dune system. The mouth of the River Coquet and the seaside town of Amble lies just to the south of the beach while the historic town of Warkworth with its medieval castle, hermitage and church is also nearby.

There are no sewer overflows discharging directly at Warkworth but there are in the immediate area surrounding the beach which may affect water quality, especially after heavy rainfall.

Amble Links, Amble, Northumberland

Pollution Alert: Storm sewage has been discharged from a sewer overflow in this location within the past 48 hours.

Located south of Amble Harbour, Amble Links is a 1km stretch of rocks, sand and shingle sloping gradually into the sea. The beach is backed by cliffs and has views across the water to Coquet Island, an RSPB reserve famous for its puffin colony.

There are no sewer overflows directly at this beach but the River Coquet meets the sea just north of the beach and there are sewer overflows that discharge into it.

Blyth South Beach, Blyth, Northumberland

Pollution Alert: Storm sewage has been discharged from a sewer overflow in this location within the past 48 hours.


Blyth South Beach is a gently sloping sandy resort beach at the southern end of the Northumberland coast.

There are two sewer overflows at the northern end of the bay.

Seaham Beach, Seaham, County Durham 

Pollution Alert: Storm sewage has been discharged from a sewer overflow in this location within the past 48 hours.


Located at the southern end of a two kilometres long bay and backed by a promenade, Seaham Beach is not directly affected by sewer overflows but there are a few that discharge into local streams and can temporarily affect bathing water quality, especially after heavy rainfall.

Seaham Hall Beach, Seaham, County Durham

Pollution Alert: Storm sewage has been discharged from a sewer overflow in this location within the past 48 hours.

Seaham Hall Beach is located north of Seaham Beach and is at the centre of a two kilometres long bay accessible mainly via stairs. Above the beach is Seaham Hall where Lord Byron married heiress Anne Milebanke in 1815.

There are a number of sewage overflows that discharge into local streams, affecting water quality, especially after heavy rainfall.

Crimdon, County Durham 

Pollution Alert: Storm sewage has been discharged from a sewer overflow in this location within the past 48 hours.

Crimdon Beach is a gently sloping sandy remote beach backed by sand dunes and a nature reserve.

There are no sewer overflows discharging close to Crimdon beach but there are some on the sewerage system to the north.

Seaton Carew North, Seaton Carew, Teesside

Pollution Alert: Storm sewage has been discharged from a sewer overflow in this location within the past 48 hours.

Seaton Carew is a small resort on Tees Bay to the south of Hartlepool. Seaton Carew North is the northern end of an extensive sandy beach fronting the town.

There is a sewer overflow directly on the beach at Seaton Carew North. Stream and river sewer overflow discharges may also have an effect on bathing water quality here, especially after heavy rainfall.

Read more: Reclaim Our Sea protestors form human chain on Saltburn beach

Redcar Granville, Redcar, Teesside

Pollution Alert: Storm sewage has been discharged from a sewer overflow in this location within the past 48 hours.

A stretch of sandy beach with wooden groynes backed by Zetland park, situated to the south of Redcar town.

There are a number of sewer overflows close to this bathing water which can affect water quality, especially after heavy rainfall.

Redcar Stray, Redcar, Teesside

Pollution Alert: Storm sewage has been discharged from a sewer overflow in this location within the past 48 hours.

A gently sloping sandy beach with a rocky foreshore, the southernmost of the Redcar beaches.

There are a number of sewer overflows close to this bathing water which can affect water quality, especially after heavy rainfall.

Marske Sands, Maske-by-the-Sea, Teesside

Pollution Alert: Storm sewage has been discharged from a sewer overflow in this location within the past 48 hours.

A sandy stretch of beach set between the seaside resorts of Saltburn and Redcar on the northeast coast. Marske-By-The-Sea also has historical significance for the part it played in a number of battles over the centuries.

A number of sewer overflows discharge into the sea here with two discharging behind the beach and one directly onto the beach.

Saltburn Beach, Saltburn-by-the-Sea

Pollution Alert: Storm sewage has been discharged from a sewer overflow in this location within the past 48 hours.
Saltburn beach is a gently sloping sand and shingle resort beach backed by cliffs.

Access to the beach from the higher parts of the town can be gained via a hydraulic cliff lift.

There are a number of sewer overflows close to Saltburn which can affect water quality, especially after heavy rainfall.

Whitby, North Yorkshire

Pollution Alert: Storm sewage has been discharged from a sewer overflow in this location within the past 48 hours.

The home of Captain James Cook, Whitby is a large, sandy, gently sloping beach resort. The harbour lies to the east of the beach which increases in size at low tide.

A sewer overflow discharges onto the centre of the beach here while other overflows into the River Esk may also affect water quality.

Scarborough North Bay, Scarborough, North Yorkshire

Pollution Alert: Storm sewage has been discharged from a sewer overflow in this location within the past 48 hours.

Located to the north of the popular seaside resort of Scarborough, North Bay is a long, sandy stretch, much quieter than the town centre beach of South Bay. It is a gently sloping beach with rocky outcrops exposed at low tides.

There are three sewer overflows that discharge into the sea at various distances from the bathing water and a number more discharging into Scalby Beck at the northern end of the beach.

Bridlington North Beach, Bridlington, North Yorkshire

Pollution Alert: Storm sewage has been discharged from a sewer overflow in this location within the past 48 hours.

Bridlington is a large sand and shingle, gently sloping resort beach. It is backed by The Edwardian North Promenade and the town of Bridlington.

There are two sewer overflows discharging directly onto Bridlington North Beach and another long sea sewer overflow discharging from Gypsy Race 1.1km into the North Sea. 

 

What have Northumbrian Water said? 

A spokesperson for Northumbrian Water said:

“We share the passion for our North East coastline demonstrated by the campaigners and our customers, and the fact that 32 of our region’s 34 Bathing Water meet Defra’s top two standards is a really positive indicator of the water quality along our beaches.

“We are committed to playing our part, alongside our partners and others whose activities have an impact on bathing water quality, in ensuring such high standards are achieved and maintained.

“In the last two decades we have seen dramatic improvements, which has been reflected in recent years where we have seen industry-leading performance on pollution. Real progress is also being made in improving monitoring, with 99% of our overflows now covered, and we are on track to reach 100% well in advance of the regulatory deadline in December 2023. This increase in monitoring has helped ensure those who enjoy using our water are better informed than ever before, and we are also working towards making this data near real-time in 2023.

“We have also invested heavily in upgrades to our wastewater network in that time and beyond, which have played an important part in these results, and we continue to do so. More than £80 million of investment is targeted towards improvements related to storm overflows in our current 2020-25 operating period.”

 

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