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| bathing water description |
Facing north and located within the waters of Cardigan Bay, Traeth Gwyn is a sandy
cove, backed by steep cliffs. The surrounding landscape is made up of agricultural
land, caravan parks and the village of New Quay, less than 1 kilometre away. The coastal
waters and coastal belt are designated as the Cardigan Bay Special Area of Conservation
and Aberarth Cerreg Wylan Site of Special Scientific Interest, confirming the high
conservation status of the area. The water quality sample point is located at the
centre of the beach.
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| county name |
Ceredigion |
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| eso outfalls statement |
Traeth Gwyn is potentially impacted by numerous storm, emergency and surface water
outfalls within the main freshwater rivers particularly during heavy rainfall.
Within the catchment of Traeth Gwyn bathing water, there are numerous storm, emergency
and surface water outfalls that discharge to the coastal streams. These protect domestic
properties from being flooded by sewage during heavy rainfall. However sewer overflows
operating during and following periods of heavy rain can result in a fall in the quality
of the water in the streams and at Traeth Gwyn bathing water.
In recent years, telemetry equipment has been installed in most of the overflows by
Dŵr Cymru Welsh Water. This technology has allowed Dŵr Cymru to respond to warnings
of blockages in the sewage system and has reduced the number of actual and potential
overflows.
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| history statement |
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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| investigations statement |
Natural Resources Wales continues to work with Ceredigion County Council and Dŵr Cymru
Welsh Water to establish sources of pollution around the beach.
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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| local authority statement |
Natural Resources Wales have been working together to improve the bathing water quality
at Traeth Gwyn for a number of years.
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| macro algae statement |
This bathing water does not have a history of large amounts of seaweed (macroalgae). |
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| misconnections statement |
Wrongly connected waste water pipes can affect the water quality of rivers and the
sea. Natural Resources Wales has worked with and Ceredigion County Council and Dŵr
Cymru Welsh Water to trace the sources of pollution from household toilet and utility
misconnections to the private and public surface water system that discharge into
Traeth Gwyn bathing waters.
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 statement |
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 does not have a history of such blooms.
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| source |
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| stw outfalls statement |
Sewage from Traeth Gwyn is pumped to Llanina Sewage Treatment Works, less than 1 kilometre
up the coast, to the east of the beach. This discharges via a long sea outfall, to
the coastal water at Cardigan Bay, to protect bathing water quality.
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| version string |
1 |
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| zoi description |
The natural drainage (hydrological) catchment surrounding the bathing water is heavily
influenced by tourism, with large caravan sites located along the coastal belt. Most
of the area is residential property and agriculture and a number of small streams,
including the Afon Halen and the Afon Felen flow onto and around the beach.
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| bathing water |
ukl1402-38700 |
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| local authority |
Sir Ceredigion - Ceredigion |
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| standard language collection |
2014-38700:1
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| algae general statement |
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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| eso outfalls general statement |
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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| local authority general statement |
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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| pollution management general statement |
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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| stw outfalls general statement |
Discharges from sewage treatment works have improved substantially in England and
Wales since the 1980s.
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| web res image |
ukl1402-38700_1-webres.jpg |
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