The North Wales beach pollution alerts after 'get out of sea' warning

Steve Bagnall

20 May 2024 at 5:13 am·2-min read

Rhyl's beaches -Credit:Ian Cooper/North Wales Live

Pollution alerts are in force for parts of North Wales coast today after a Welsh beach 'get out of sea' warning over the weekend, left people "shocked".

Today there were two sewage alerts in place for Rhyl and one for Prestatyn, following recent discharges, according to the Surfers Against Sewage website.

It follows a string of sewage alerts for North Wales last week, ahead of the sunny weekend, with daytrippers and water sports enthusiasts warned before heading to the beaches.

The alerts say:

Rhyl East: Pollution Alert: Storm sewage has been discharged from a sewer overflow in this location within the past 48 hours. Located in North Wales, Rhyl East is a sandy beach with pebbles backed by a promenade.
Rhyl: Pollution Alert: Storm sewage has been discharged from a sewer overflow in this location within the past 48 hours.
Rhyl is located approximately one kilometre north east of the River Clwyd, within a long sandy stretch of beach, which extends over 2.5 kilometres from the Clwyd Estuary to Splash Point
Prestatyn: Pollution Alert: Storm sewage has been discharged from a sewer overflow in this location within the past 48 hours.
Prestatyn beach is a long stretch of sand divided by sea defences. It has a large tidal range and is gently sloping from low tide towards the high tide area, which is bordered by a promenade. There are two significant sewer overflows in the Rhyl area which could impact water quality under certain tidal conditions.

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And on Saturday afternoon, May 18, visitors to one of Wales' most popular beaches were abruptly ordered out of the water due to concerns over "water quality".

Hundreds of families were enjoying the warm weather at Barry Island when they were instructed to leave the water, due to pollution concerns, while the Gwyl Fach y Fro festival was in full swing.

Hayley Graham, from Barry, went to the beach with her children aged eight and one after the festival. Her youngest daughter was in the water when they heard the tannoy announcement to get out.

She said: "We were so shocked when we heard the announcement. We know that there can be issues with sewage on the beach but you do not expect it on a warm and sunny weekend. There was a lot of confusion and upset."

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