2014 Bathing Water Profile for Church Bay
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Also known as Porth Swtan, the bay is located on the north coast of Anglesey, facing west overlooking Holyhead. The beach consists of rock, pebble and sand, backed by cliffs, edged by rocks with many rock pools. Church Bay falls within the Anglesey Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, with the Clegir Mawr Site of Special Scientific Interest located at the north of the bay. It also lies within the Anglesey Heritage Coast designation. The water quality sample point is located at the centre of the bay.
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Isle of Anglesey
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Natural Resources Wales works to establish sources of pollution around Church Bay. Some of this work is carried out in partnership with Anglesey County Council and Dŵr Cymru Welsh Water. Inspections are carried out by Natural Resources Wales in partnership with the local authority and the water company. These are carried out pre-season (before the 1st of May) and mid season, if required (during the bathing water season). Pollution prevention visits to private properties (both trade and domestic) have been carried out in 2010 to deal with their septic tank discharges.
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Natural Resources Wales has developed a good working relationship with Dŵr Cymru Welsh Water and liaises regularly to identify problems that could affect bathing water quality.
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Natural Resources Wales continues to work with Anglesey Council to maintain the high standard of water quality at Church Bay.
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This bathing water does not have a history of large amounts of seaweed (macroalgae).
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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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Phytoplankton (microscopic algae) naturally increase in number at certain times of the year. This process is known as a phytoplankton bloom. Algal Blooms can occur at any beach during the bathing season and are usually noticeable by a surface scum. This beach has no history of such blooms.
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2014 Bathing Water Profile for Church Bay
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Streams are typically affected by sewage or industrial run off from further up the catchment. There are no known direct sewage discharges into the stream that runs onto the south end of this beach, although there are numerous septic tanks located near the stream. This could potentially be a source of reduced water quality during periods of heavy rain fall.
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Rhydwyn Sewage Treatment Works is located inland above the cliffs, approximately 1.2 kilometres from the beach. This discharges secondary treated sewage to a small watercourse, which drains to a small bay more than 0.5 kilometres south of Church Bay.
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Natural Resources Wales continues to work with private owners regarding potential pollution sources to the bathing water. This work involves where necessary, advisory mail drops, dye tracing, misconnection surveys and face to face meetings. The private domestic owners, located above the beach are not connected to the main sewage system and have private sewage treatment arrangements. The sites (both trade and domestic) have been visited in 2010 (and previously) regarding septic tank discharges. Poorly maintained private sewage treatment facilities could be a source of pollution, therefore the registration of all private sewage systems in Wales is required by 30 June 2012. The primary aim of this exercise is to provide increased protection for the environment and sensitive features such as bathing water beaches. Where properties are identified in the catchment that are not on mains sewerage, Natural Resources Wales will endeavour to ensure registration has been made.
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The natural drainage (hydrological) catchment surrounding the bathing water is primarily rural. Most is agricultural land with pasture and some rough grazing on the cliffs. The land above the cliffs is relatively flat, with isolated dwellings scattered throughout the upper catchment.
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2014 40030:1
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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 and Wales 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 and Natural Resources Wales role to drive improvement of water quality at bathing waters that are at risk of failing European 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 and Wales since the 1980s.
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