Three of Brighton & Hove’s beaches have, once again, been designated as excellent for bathing water quality.
Bathing water classifications recently published by Defra have seen Hove, Brighton Kemptown and Saltdean rated excellent and Brighton Central and the newly designated Rottingdean Beach rated good.
Being designated as a bathing water site means the beaches benefit from water quality monitoring by the Environment Agency through the summer months, to assess if action is needed to cut pollution levels.
In Brighton & Hove, we’ve gone a step further, introducing an innovative, year-round volunteer led seawater testing programme.
The volunteers, many of them keen open water swimmers, are taking part in a citizen science project, testing Hove seawater every other day for E. coli levels, subject to weather conditions.
Southern Water agreed to fund the 12-month project following an approach from Council Leader Bella Sankey and Hove MP Peter Kyle around the release of sewage into the sea.
Samples are being taken and collated by trained volunteers using specialist equipment, which is being stored at the King Alfred Leisure Centre, run by Freedom Leisure on behalf of the council.
Councillor Sankey recently met the volunteers taking part in the water testing. “It was fascinating to be able to join the team and test the seawater off Hove beach,” she said. “I’d like to thank all those who are giving their time to support this valuable project.
“Our residents, quite rightly, want more transparent information about the quality of our seawater all year round, so I’m delighted that we have been able to launch this innovative citizen science project.”
The citizen science project, which is being undertaken independently from Southern Water, will help to maintain standards by identifying pollution levels so that concerns can be investigated and pressure put on polluters to take action.
Peter Kyle MP added: “We all want polluters to be held accountable, and evidence is invaluable to be able to do that. In time, the results gathered will be overlaid with weather patterns, tidal patterns and known releases to bathing sites along the coast.”
Volunteer Jo Elsden said: “We live by the sea and recognise that it’s so important to ensure it’s clean and safe to swim in. Current information sources don’t provide accurate information, so ensuring we have regular testing can help us all understand more about what is needed for future monitoring and prevention.”
Fellow volunteer Mark Cooper added: “The sea is one of our city’s greatest attractions, but we don’t know nearly as much about it as we’d like to.
“People tell us they are less likely to swim and visit the seaside because of their concerns about water quality. Therefore, it’s great to have this opportunity to help fellow swimmers and potential visitors to know more about when is good to go for a dip, which is most of the time!”
