2024 Bathing Water Profile for St Bees
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The beach is steeply sloping and pebbly leading to a large area of flat sand closer to the sea. There are steep cliffs to the north of the beach leading up to St Bees Head.
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Copeland District
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Cumbria
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In 1999 the Environment Agency assessed the sources of pollution which could affect bathing water quality at Seascale and St Bees. This work led to improvements in bathing water quality on this stretch of coast.
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Under the programme of work for United Utilities (from 2015 to 2020) all storm overflows close to bathing waters have had equipment installed to monitor spills to the environment. This will help to identify where bathing water improvements may be needed in the future. This bathing water is included in the Surfers Against Sewage “Safer Seas Service”. This service can alert you to Combined Storm Sewer Overflow discharges via a phone App and in addition, it includes the Environment Agency Pollution Risk Forecast warnings where they are available. Further details of the service can be found at - http://www.sas.org.uk/safer-seas-service/ and via United Utilities website at http://www.unitedutilities.com/Bathing-Waters-Map.aspx.
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In 2004, United Utilities transferred the flows from St Bees Sewage Treatment Works to Braystones Sewage Treatment Works. This discharges to the Irish Sea approximately eight kilometres south of St Bees. A storm overflow operates during heavy rainfall, and an emergency overflow operates in conditions such as power failure. These have been kept at St Bees Pumping Station. They discharge to Pow Beck to the southern end of St Bees bathing water. United Utilities also transferred the flows from the Nethertown Outfall located to the south of St Bees to the Braystones Sewage Treatment Works in 2004. An emergency overflow remains at Nethertown that operates in conditions such as power failure.
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To help improve bathing water quality we are working alongside Local Authorities through a LOVEmyBEACH campaign. Further information can be found at http://lovemybeach.org/
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For the four year (2020-2023) assessment period where data is available, seaweed (macroalgae) was assessed as being sufficient to be objectionable for 2% of visits, with 65% of visits noting the presence of seaweed (macroalgae). This bathing water has a history of large amounts of seaweed which can be slippery.
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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. Between January and March 2012 the Environment Agency surveyed surface water catchments close to Seascale bathing water to identify any sources of contamination. This work led to the investigation of four surface water catchments for misconnections by United Utilities in 2014 and 2015. The Environment Agency are working with United Utilities, the local authority and householders to resolve misconnection issues identified in the survey.
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For the four year (2020-2023) assessment period where data is available, phytoplankton (microscopic algae) was not noted at this site. Phytoplankton (microscopic algae) naturally increase in number at certain times of the year. This process is known as a phytoplankton bloom. This bathing water does not have a history of phytoplankton blooms. The risks to human health from contact, ingestion or inhalation with marine algae that currently occur in UK coastal waters are considered to be low. However, some individuals may be more sensitive and display some reactions. A common marine algae found in UK coastal waters is Phaeocystis, which is often mistaken for sewage as it forms foam and a brown scum, but it is non-toxic.
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This bathing water is subject to short term pollution procedures. The Environment Agency makes a daily pollution risk forecast at this site based on the effects of rain, wind and seasonality on bathing water quality. These factors affect the levels of bacteria that get washed into the sea from livestock, sewage and urban drainage via rivers and streams and how they disperse. When these factors combine to make short term pollution likely we issue a pollution risk warning on this website and the beach manager will display a sign advising against bathing at the bathing water. After a short term pollution event, levels of bacteria typically return to normal after a day or so but it’s possible to have several warning days in a row. Details of the work to reduce the sources of bacteria at this bathing water are detailed in this profile. In 2023 3 pollution risk warnings were issued for this bathing water. All bathing waters have the potential to be affected by a pollution incident and if this occurs a pollution risk warning will be issued with associated advice against bathing on this website.
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2024 Bathing Water Profile for St Bees
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2024-09-30
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2024-05-01
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Pow Beck flows to the sea across the southern end of the beach. Rottington Beck flows across the beach at the northern end. These can impact bathing water quality particularly after rainfall.
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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. At St Bees for the four year (2020-2023) assessment period where data is available, sewage debris was not noted at this site. Litter was assessed as being sufficient to be objectionable for 2% of visits, with 21% of visits noting the presence of litter. Tarry residue was not noted at this site.
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The Sellafield nuclear site is located on the West Cumbrian coast just north of the village of Seascale. The site which covers an area around four square kilometres is bordered on the western edge by the coastline. The Environment Agency permits waste disposal from the site, including discharges via a pipeline into the Irish Sea. The Environment Agency monitors seawater, sediment and seaweed at beaches in West Cumbria and publishes the results in an annual Radioactivity in Food and Environment Report (https://www.gov.uk/monitoring-radioactivity). The reduction in aerial and liquid discharges over the last three decades has been dramatic.
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St Bees is on the West Cumbrian coast. The land in the catchment is mainly used for agriculture with many livestock farms. There are numerous becks and streams in this catchment which flow from the hills of the Lake District National Park down across this coastline to the sea.
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St Bees
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St Bees
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Sampling point at St Bees
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295900
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54.48992806066554
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-3.608570305633333
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511700
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Sampling point at St Bees
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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 45920:1
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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's 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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