2014 Bathing Water Profile for Porth Neigwl
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This is a large beach on the southwest facing side of the Lleyn Peninsula. It is also known as Hell's Mouth, and is a popular spot with surfers. It is predominantly sandy in nature, with a pebbly foreshore. The area lies within the Sea cliffs of Lleyn Site of Special Scientific Interest and Special Area of Conservation, the Lleyn Peninsula and the Sarnau Special Area of Conservation, and the Llyn Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. The water quality sample point is in line with the car park.
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Gwynedd
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There are no emergency / storm overflows in this vicinity.
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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 Porth Neigwl
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Streams are typically affected by sewage or industrial run-off from further up the catchment. There are a small number of unnamed streams which run onto Porth Neigwl, however there has never been any history of sewage/runoff entering these watercourses.
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There is one sewage works located at the west end of the bay which serves the village of Rhiw. This is not known to have any impact on the bathing water quality.
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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 catchment area surrounding the bathing water is largely rural. The majority of land is agricultural land but this tends to drain towards the Soch due to the topography of the land. The backdrop of the beach is boulder clay, which forms cliffs which are being eroded away.
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2014 39920:1
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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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