2019 Bathing Water Profile for Wallasey
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The bathing water is situated on the north west coast of England, just west of Liverpool. It has a wide expanse of sand with a shallow profile to the Mersey Estuary. There are sea defences (concrete steps and banking) at the back of the beach with car parking behind, at a regular height high tide the sea does not extend to the concrete banking.
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Wirral
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Merseyside
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In 1999 the Environment Agency carried out two surveys of the sea outfall through which the Meols Sewage Treatment Works discharges to the Irish Sea. These surveys found that there is only a minimal impact from this outfall on bathing water quality. The Environment Agency has contributed to the Mersey Basin Campaign, a 25-year government-backed community response to the need to improve environmental quality along the whole length of the Mersey and its tributaries. Past and future improvements will help protect the bathing water quality at Wallasey. The Environment Agency supported a study by United Utilities to identify the discharges that contribute to the amount of bacteria in the Mersey Estuary to help improve the shellfish waters located on the Wirral. The study was completed in 2012 and has helped identify discharges which could impact the Wirral bathing waters including Wallasey. The findings of the study are being built on in United Utilities’ current programme of investment (2015 to 2020) by updating and extending the Mersey Estuary model. This will be used to help identify and prioritise further improvements.
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The New Brighton Pumping Station was upgraded by United Utilities in 2008 to reduce the number of discharges made during the summer. The improvements were designed to protect bathing water quality at Wallasey bathing water. There are six surface water outfalls that can be seen at Wallasey beach. There should be no impact on the bathing water quality at the beach as the outfalls should only discharge clean surface water. There is also a disused outfall near the beach. There is no impact on bathing water quality from this outfall. Under the proposed future programme of work for United Utilities (from 2015 to 2020) all storm overflows close to bathing waters will have equipment installed to monitor spills to the environment. This will help to identify where bathing water improvements may be needed in the future.
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In 1996 United Utilities built the Wallasey detention tank. This was designed to reduce the number of discharges during storms on the North Wirral coast and has improved bathing water quality. The tank is located around one kilometre north east of Wallasey beach. The discharge from the tank can discharge storm sewage through two separate outfalls. Meols Sewage Treatment Works, located to the south west of Wallasey bathing water, was upgraded by United Utilities in 2001. The sewage treatment works was upgraded again in 2005 to provide disinfection of the treated discharge to protect bathing water quality. The sewage treatment works discharges through a long sea outfall running five kilometres out to sea. Surveys have shown there is no known impact on the bathing water from the long sea outfall. United Utilities upgraded the large sewage discharges at Liverpool, Bromborough and Birkenhead to the lower Mersey Estuary by 2000 to provide improved treatment. In addition a discharge from Wallasey was diverted to Birkenhead Sewage Treatment Works to ensure the sewage flows received adequate treatment.
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For the four year (2015-2018) assessment period where data is available, seaweed (macroalgae) was not assessed as being sufficient to be objectionable, but was observed as being present on 65% of visits. This bathing water does not have a history of large amounts of seaweed (macro algae).
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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.
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For the four year (2015-2018) assessment period where data is available, phytoplankton (microscopic algae) was not assessed as being sufficient to be objectionable, but was observed as being present on 1% of visits. This bathing water has a history of phytoplankton blooms which are not harmful but can result in the water appearing discoloured or a foam forming on the water. 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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2019 Bathing Water Profile for Wallasey
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2019-09-30
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2019-05-01
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The Wallasey bathing water is located on the northern end of the Wirral Peninsula. To the south west of the peninsula is the Dee Estuary and to the north east is the Mersey Estuary. Both the Rivers Dee and Mersey are large and have many inland tributaries. The Mersey catchment in particular is heavily built up around the cities of Liverpool and Manchester. The Mersey Estuary is understood to have limited impact on the Wallasey bathing water as the estuary generally flows directly out into the Irish Sea and does not reach the bathing waters on the northern end of the Wirral peninsula. The current study with the Mersey Estuary Model seeks to clarify this.
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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 Wallasey for the four year (2015-2018) assessment period where data is available, sewage debris was not noted at this site. Litter was not assessed as being sufficient to be objectionable, but was observed as being present on 18% of visits. Tarry residue was not noted at this site.
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The bathing water is situated on the low lying Wirral peninsula. The land in the catchment is predominantly urban. Most streams and drains in this area flow eastwards into the River Mersey Estuary.
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Wallasey
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Wallasey
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Sampling point at Wallasey
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328526
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53.433595652453334
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-3.077281007983427
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393518
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Sampling point at Wallasey
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p152 dT23 h59 m59 s
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2019 05 01 t00:00:00
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2019-05-01T00:00:00
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2019 09 30 t23:59:59
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2019-09-30T23:59:59
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2019 41000:1
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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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