2014 Bathing Water Profile for Rest Bay Porthcawl
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The bay faces south west towards the Bristol Channel, measuring approximately 2.5 kilometres, at low tide. The beach is made up of sand with rock pavements and pebbles at the high tide mark. The town of Porthcawl backs onto the south-east end of the bay, while the north-west end is backed by the Royal Porthcawl Golf Course. The water quality sample point is located at the centre of the beach, in line with the life guard hut.
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Bridgend
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Natural Resources Wales continues to work to establish sources of pollution around Rest Bay. Some of this work is carried out in partnership with the Bridgend County Borough Council. 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).
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Storm sewer discharges near Hutchwns Point and Irongate Point can operate when heavy rainfall overwhelms the sewerage system. These protect domestic properties in Porthcawl from being flooded by sewage and storm water during heavy rainfall. There are numerous storm outfalls that discharge into the river Ogmore and its tributaries near to Rest Bay. Water quality in streams or rivers may decline after periods of heavy rainfall.
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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 works with Bridgend County Borough Council to safeguard bathing water quality at Rest Bay. Pre-season inspections are conducted in liaison with the local authority. Natural Resources Wales is a member of the Rest Bay Management Group, facilitated by the local authority.
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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. These algal blooms can occur at any beach during the bathing season and are usually noticeable by a surface scum. This beach has a history of such blooms.
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2014 Bathing Water Profile for Rest Bay Porthcawl
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Streams are typically affected by sewage or industrial run off from further up the catchment. During and after periods of heavy rainfall, run off from agricultural and urban areas will be greatly increased. This bathing water is located close to the estuary of the River Ogmore. This has a large and varied catchment, which can be influenced by agricultural, urban and industrial areas. This may result in deterioration in bathing water quality at Rest Bay following periods of heavy rainfall.
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Pen-y -Bont Wastewater Treatment Works discharges into the estuary of the River Ogmore, approximately 7 km to the east. Disinfection through ultra-violet treatment of the effluent protects the bathing water quality.
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Natural Resources Wales continues to work with private owners regarding potential pollution sources to the bathing waters. This work involves, where necessary, advisory mail drops, dye tracing, misconnection surveys and meetings with the Rest Bay Management Group. Poorly maintained private sewage treatment facilities could be a source of pollution, therefore the registration of all qualifying private sewage systems in Wales was 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 discharges from properties are identified in the catchment that are not on mains sewerage, Natural Resources Wales will endeavour to ensure registration has been made, unless already a permitted discharge.
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The natural drainage (hydrological) catchment surrounding the bathing water is highly diverse. The town of Bridgend is located in the lower catchment, with several smaller urban areas located along the length of the tributaries of the River Ogmore. The urban areas are a mixture of residential and light industry. Further into the catchment there are some forested areas and upland hill farming, predominantly sheep.
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2014 36700:1
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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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