2024 Bathing Water Profile for Littlehaven Beach
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Littlehaven Beach is a gently sloping resort beach within the mouth of the River Tyne. The designated bathing beach measures approximately 600 metres.
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South Tyneside District
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Tyne & Wear
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In the late 1970s/1980s, an interceptor sewer was built to take sewage to a new treatment works at Howdon.
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Modern sewerage systems have two separate systems, one takes foul sewage to sewage treatment, the other takes rainwater runoff through surface water drains to rivers, lakes and the sea. Misconnections occur when waste water pipes are plumbed into surface water drains instead of the foul water sewerage system. This can give rise to pollution when the waste water is discharged directly to the environment through the surface water drain. For example, a washing machine or toilet may be incorrectly plumbed so that it discharges to the surface drain rather than the foul sewage drain. In 2000, the treatment works at Howdon was upgraded to provide a higher level of treatment and disinfection using ultraviolet light.
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There are no active pollution risk forecasts made at this bathing water. However any bathing water has the potential to be affected by a pollution incident and if this occurs a pollution risk warning with associated advice against bathing will be issued on this website.
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2024 Bathing Water Profile for Littlehaven Beach
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2024-09-30
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2024-05-01
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In 2000, the treatment works at Howdon was upgraded to provide a higher level of treatment and disinfection using ultraviolet light.
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Environment Agency samplers make observations of litter present on the beach at every visit, this includes assessments of sewage debris, litter and tar.
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The beach is within the mouth of the River Tyne, which has a catchment of approximately 3000 square kilometres. It rises in Pennine moorland, draining a largely agricultural catchment before reaching the sea via an urban/industrial estuary.
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Littlehaven Beach
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Littlehaven Beach
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Sampling point at Littlehaven Beach
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437116
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55.00455
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-1.42127
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567928
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Sampling point at Littlehaven Beach
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p152 dT23 h59 m59 s
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2024 05 01 t00:00:00
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2024-05-01T00:00:00
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2024 09 30 t23:59:59
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2024-09-30T23:59:59
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2024 05250:1
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Seaweed (macroalgae) and phytoplankton (microscopic algae) are a natural part of the marine and freshwater environment. Below we note whether these have been recorded in quantities sufficient to be a nuisance.
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The majority of sewers in England are “combined sewers” and carry both sewage and surface water from roofs and drains. A storm overflow operates during heavy rainfall when the sewerage system becomes overwhelmed by the amount of surface water. The overflow prevents sewage from backing up pipes and flooding properties and gardens. An emergency overflow will only operate infrequently, for example due to pump failure or blockage in the sewerage system.
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Heavy rain falling on pavements and roads often flows into surface water drains or highway drains, ending up in local rivers and ultimately the sea. The quality of bathing water may be adversely affected as a result of such events.
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It is the Environment Agency role to drive improvement of water quality at bathing waters that are at risk of failing higher standards. It is natural for water to run off the land to the sea. Water quality at a bathing water is dependent upon the type and area of land (the catchment) draining to the water and the activities undertaken in that catchment.
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Discharges from sewage treatment works have improved substantially in England since the 1980s.
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