The beach is long and sandy, stretching for 9 kilometres and backed by sand dunes. The area is designated as the Lleyn Peninsula and the Sarnau Special Area of Conservation, Morfa Harlech Site of Special Scientific Interest and a National Nature Reserve. The water quality sample point is located 130 metres south of the board walk.
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.
There are 3 pumping station overflows at Harlech. Two of these discharge to surface waters between the two main roads. The other discharges to sea.
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 Harlech 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.
Sewage from Harlech is pumped to Llanbedr Sewage Treatment Works for treatment.
Natural Resources Wales and Gwynedd Council have been working together to protect the bathing water quality at Harlech 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 Harlech 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.
Sewage from Harlech is pumped to the Dwr Cymru sewage treatment works near Llanbedr. Treated effluent then discharges to the Afon Artro. This discharge point is located several kilometres south of the Harlech bathing water.
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 Harlech, 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 the majority of the time and in greater amounts on less than ten per cent of occasions. There was one observation of tarry residues in May 2021 and August 2023, otherwise oil and tarry residues were not noted at this site.
The salt marshes of the Dwyryd Estuary to the north of Harlech are used for sheep grazing. As a result, sheep faeces can be picked up by the tide during spring tides and storm events and left on the beach at Harlech by the outgoing tide. This can result in false reports to Natural Resources Wales of sewage on the beach.
Natural Resources Wales continues to work with private owners regarding 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.
The natural drainage (hydrological) catchment of the surrounding area consists mainly of agricultural land. The majority of this is sheep farming. There are also a number of low lying salt marshes in the area. These marshes are grazed by sheep. During particularly high tides and/or a strong onshore wind, sheep faeces can be washed off these marshes and deposited on beaches around the area.
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.
