Rock Beach is on the north coast of Cornwall on the eastern side of the Camel Estuary
opposite the town of Padstow. It is a sandy beach resort approximately 800 metres
wide. It is intertidal and backed by sand dunes, which at low water extend for three
kilometres past Brea Hill to Daymer Bay.
There is an emergency/storm overflow from the Rock pumping station, that discharges
to the estuary 350m from the Environment Agency monitoring point. The operation of
the overflow can lead to a drop in bathing water quality near Rock bathing water.
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.
Further details of the service can be found at - http://www.sas.org.uk/safer-seas-service/
The South West Water sewage treatment scheme known as the Trevone Scheme collects
sewage from the various settlements around the Camel Estuary. It is split into two
schemes centred on the Porthilly sewage treatment works (STW) (East Bank Scheme),
and a works at Trecerus near Padstow (West Bank Scheme).
Porthilly STW received ultraviolet (UV) disinfection in 1996 for sewage from Rock,
Polzeath, and Tredrizzick, and improvements were made to the sewerage in Rock and
Polzeath. Trecerus STW was completed for the 1997 bathing season with chemically assisted
sedimentation and ultraviolet (UV) disinfection for sewage from St Merryn, Trevone
and Padstow. Improvements were also made to the sewerage in Padstow, St Merryn, Harlyn
and Trevone at that time. The treatment was subsequently upgraded to full secondary
treatment and UV disinfection by April 2004.
Improvements to seven storm overflows to the Camel Estuary at Padstow Harbour, Rock
pumping station (PS), Eddystone Road (Wadebridge PS), and Porthilly combined sewer
overflow (CSO) were also completed by April 2004, and improvements to Padstow South
Quay CSO, Moyles Road and Egloshayle PS were completed by August 2004. The installation
of UV disinfection at Wadebridge STW was completed by July 2004.
The Environment Agency have carried out extensive additional catchment monitoring
alongside the Environment Agency routine bathing water monitoring. The Environment
Agency are using a DNA tracing technique to help us identify whether sources of faecal
pollution are animal or human with surveys carried out in wet and dry weather conditions.
The Environment Agency have also walked up the catchment to identify potential sources
of pollution in the Camel Estuary including misconnections, poorly maintained private
sewerage systems, leaking sewers and unsuitable farming practices.
The urban area of Rock immediately behind the beach is served by a combined (surface
and sewer) system. Surface water can flow into the River Camel Estuary from urban
areas, outfall pipes and highway drains. This can affect bathing water quality, particularly
after periods of rainfall.
Wrongly connected domestic waste water pipes can also affect the bathing water quality.
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.
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.
This bathing water is subject to short term pollution. Short term pollution is caused
when heavy rainfall washes faecal material into the sea from livestock, sewage and
urban drainage via rivers and streams. At this site the risk of encountering reduced
water quality increases after rainfall and typically returns to normal after 1-3 days.
The Environment Agency makes daily pollution risk forecasts based on rainfall patterns
and will issue a pollution risk warning if heavy rainfall occurs to enable bathers
to avoid periods of increased risk.
The Environment Agency works to reduce the sources of this pollution through pollution
prevention measures, work with agriculture and water companies.
17 warnings advising against swimming due to an increase risk of short term pollution
were issued in 2015 for Rock bathing water. These warnings were issued because of
the effects of heavy rain on the water quality.
Streams and rivers are typically affected by human sewage, animal slurry and runoff
from roads. Rock bathing water is in the Camel Estuary, where water quality is worse
during and after heavy rainfall.
The outfall from the Porthilly STW discharges to the River Camel Estuary approximately
1.2km southeast of the bathing water. This discharge is disinfected and designed to
protect bathing water quality.
Environment Agency samplers make observations of litter present on the beach at every
visit, this includes assessments of sewage debris, litter and tar. At Rock for the
four year (2012-2015) 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 16% of visits. Tarry residue was not noted at
this site.
There are many farms in this bathing water catchment, most of which are dairy. During
and after periods of heavy rainfall, runoff to the Camel Estuary from agricultural
land is greatly increased, and the quality of the bathing water can be reduced.
The catchment surrounding Rock is approximately 39,700 hectares. The bathing water
is in the Camel Estuary and is influenced by the whole Camel Estuary system. The River
Camel rises at 280m on Hendraburnick Down on Bodmin Moor, and drains the area between
Bodmin Moor and Padstow including a diverse range of farming landscapes. It flows
for approximately 40km over steep terrain before joining the estuary near Wadebridge.
The estuary then meets the sea near Padstow.
The Camel Valley and its major tributaries the rivers Allen, Ruthern and De Lank are
currently designated as a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI). They have also
been attributed Special Area of Conservation (SAC) status under the European Union
Habitats Directive, due to the presence of otters and bullheads. Further designations
include Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) status for the Camel Estuary and
Area of Great Landscape Value (AGLV) status for the Camel and Allen valleys.
Historically, mining and quarrying were important industries with slate quarrying
still occurring at Delabole, towards the top of the River Allen. The upper and middle
reaches of the Camel are essentially moorland, passing into woodland. Most of the
undulating land is used for livestock farming, with mixed farming/rough grazing on
the poorer land. The catchment includes the larger settlements of Bodmin, Wadebridge,
Padstow and Camelford.
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.
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.
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.
It is the Environment Agency 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.
