The beach is a 5 kilometre stretch of sand, backed by a large embankment of pebbles, which provides a natural and effective flood defence. At the north of the beach is the Mawddach Estuary, whilst the south is backed by steep cliffs. A short distance along the shore are tank traps dating from the Second World War, known locally as "Dragon's Teeth". The bathing water lies within the Lleyn Peninsula and the Sarnau Special Area of Conservation. The northern end of the beach is designated as part of the Mawddach Estuary Site of Special Scientific Interest, whilst the area to the south of the beach is designated the Glannau Tonfanau to Friog Site of Special Scientific Interest. The water quality sample point is located opposite the car park.
Investigations will be undertaken where and when necessary e.g. where there are elevated bacterial results in the bathing water that cannot be simply explained due to weather conditions.
The majority of sewers in 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.
There are a number of intermittent assets in the catchment. To the south, is Friog Pumping Station, which discharges into an inland watercourse that flows onto Fairbourne beach, as does the discharge from the main Fairbourne Pumping Station to the north of the village. There are several other pumping stations in the catchment, which discharge into inland watercourses. Among them is the Bryncoch St Mary’s Pumping Station. This discharges into the Mawddach Estuary, rather than directly onto the beach. A project known as Event Duration Monitoring (EDM) was undertaken to install telemetry on Combined Sewer Overflows (CSOs) within 2km of a bathing water by 2020 so that Dŵr Cymru Welsh Water (DCWW) know when the CSOs are operating and can work to reduce spills. Three CSOs near Fairbourne were included in the project.
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.
Natural Resources Wales and Gwynedd Council have been working together to maintain bathing water quality and manage flood defence systems at Fairbourne for a number of years.
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.
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. There are no known misconnections in the Fairbourne area.
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.
Streams are typically affected by sewage or industrial run off from further up the catchment. At the northern end of the beach is the Mawddach estuary. In the centre of the village is the River Henddol. This is a small river, which can be a source of reduced water quality after heavy rainfall. The larger estuary can be a source of reduced water quality after heavy rainfall or spring tides when sheep faecal material can be washed out into the bathing water.
Fairbourne Waste Water Treatment Works and its storm tanks, both discharge to coastal waters to the north of the beach. Fairbourne Waste Water Treatment Works provides advanced biological treatment through a membrane bio-reactor plant, which contributes to the protection of the bathing beach.
Natural Resources Wales samplers make visual observations of the beach at every visit. This includes assessments of sewage debris, animal faeces, litter and oil or tar. At Fairbourne, data are available for the four year assessment period from 2020-2023. Sewage debris was not observed at this bathing water. Trace amounts of animal faeces were noted at the site on a minority of occasions. Trace amounts of litter were observed at the bathing water on between forty and fifty per cent of occasions. Oil and tarry residues were not noted at this site.
Natural Resources Wales continues to work with private owners, to address potential pollution sources to the bathing water. This work involves where necessary, advisory mail drops, dye tracing, misconnection surveys and face to face meetings. Poorly maintained private sewage treatment facilities could be a source of pollution, therefore the registration of all private sewage systems in Wales was required by 30 June 2012. The primary aim of this exercise was 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.
Fairbourne is located on the foothills, west of the Cadair Idris mountains in Meirionnydd. The natural drainage (hydrological) catchment immediately behind the beach is urban, dominated by the village of Fairbourne. To the north and south the land is low-lying and flat, with marshy areas in places. This area is drained by internal drainage ditches and some natural streams. Behind the town, the land rises sharply from sea level to 260 metres to form hills covered in rough grazing land with pockets of forestry.
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 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.
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 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. The following sections serve to highlight potential sources of pollution, conditions under which they may arise and measures being put in place to improve water quality.
