All nine of Wrenhaven's designated beaches have passed national bathing-water tests for the third year in a row, according to results published this week. Six were rated excellent and three good, the best set of grades the city has recorded since monitoring began.
The improvement owes a great deal to work below the streets. Over the past four years the regional water company has enlarged storm tanks at Fenwick Point and the Saltings and rebuilt two pumping stations, so that heavy rain no longer forces untreated sewage into the bay as often. Overflow events fell from 212 in the worst year to 94 last season.
Samples every week
Inspectors took water samples from each beach every week during the bathing season, testing for two types of bacteria linked to sewage. Shingle Cove, a pebble beach below the cliffs at Fenwick Point, moved up from good to excellent for the first time. Its regular swimmers had campaigned for years for a new storm tank on the headland.
You can see the bottom again on a calm day, and five years ago you would not have put your face in it.
That was the verdict of Annelise Kerr, who has swum at Shingle Cove most mornings for two decades and helped collect evidence of spills on a shared spreadsheet. Environmental scientist Dr Tobias Hartley, of the University of Wrenhaven, said the results were encouraging but warned that grades reflect a season's average and a single storm can still cause short-term problems.
Beaches rated excellent: six of nine
Overflow spills last season: 94, down from 212
Lifeguard cover extended by three weeks
Not every source of pollution comes from pipes. Officials say runoff from farmland in the Asher Valley, carried down the river after heavy rain, still affects the beaches closest to the estuary, and dog fouling on the sand can push bacteria counts up on busy days. The council has introduced seasonal dog restrictions on two beaches and is working with farmers on buffer strips along the riverbanks to slow the flow of soil and manure.
Because of the results and longer spells of mild weather, the council has extended lifeguard cover on the four busiest beaches by three weeks. Real-time warnings after heavy rain will continue to appear on signs at each beach entrance and on the council website.