Northumbrian Water, North Tyneside Council and the Environment Agency have been working together to try to identify and fix the source of contaminated groundwater at Cullercoats beach to improve the area’s bathing water quality.

Extensive investigative work done by the organisations over the years has shown that contamination is likely coming from several different sources in the local area, rather than a single issue.

Detailed survey and excavation work done by Northumbrian Water in the last few weeks, suggests that polluted groundwater may be travelling through the ground and onto the beach and sea via the cliffs and caves.

A lot of corrective work has already been undertaken, and this has identified a number of potential contributing factors including damaged pipework, likely to have been caused by previously unknown land drainage systems and misconnected private drains feeding into a culvert around the John Street and Beverley Terrace areas.

Northumbrian Water has been fixing wrongly connected customers’ waste connections, including repairing, and diverting connections. This work has stopped waste flows getting into the old land drainage systems which are connected to the culvert.

Further work is planned in the area by North Tyneside Council and Northumbrian Water in the coming months, as well as regular water quality monitoring and testing by the Environment Agency.

Richard Warneford, Wastewater Director at Northumbrian Water, said:

“Recent work has found some historic and unrecorded land drains in the areas around John Street and Beverley Terrace.

“We think there’s a strong possibility that these old systems have caused damage to sewers and allowed water from misconnections and damaged pipes to pass through ground in the area and into the cave and cliff systems and then down to the beach, causing poor bathing water quality.

“We’ve done a lot of excavation work in those streets and where we’ve found misconnected properties we’ve immediately fixed any issues and correctly connected homes to our sewage networks, so that the waste can be taken away safely and treated properly. We are hopeful that these actions will make a positive difference to the bathing water at Cullercoats – which is something we all want to achieve.

Sam Dand, Director of Environment at North Tyneside Council, added:

"Everyone wants to see excellent bathing water quality at Cullercoats, and we're committed to working with Northumbrian Water and the Environment Agency to understand and tackle what is a complex issue.

“These investigations are helping to build a much clearer picture of the causes, and it's encouraging that practical improvements have already been made.

“We'll continue to play our part by supporting further investigations and works, while keeping residents informed as this long-term programme of work progresses.”

According to the Environment Agency, Cullercoats is a highly complex bathing water, with influences on water quality believed to be reaching the beach via groundwater. Identifying sources of pollution has required a number of innovative investigations, which have only been achieved through collaborative working amongst North Tyneside Council, Northumbrian Water and the Environment Agency.

During the 2026 bathing water season, the Environment Agency has pledged further resources toward ensuring that all potential sources of pollution are identified and appropriate action taken.

The Environment Agency is also undertaking an enhanced investigative sampling programme to evaluate the effectiveness of remedial works already completed.

Rachael Caldwell, Area Environment Manager for the Environment Agency said:

“Improving water quality takes time and involves everyone including water companies, farmers, transport operators, local councils and communities to play a part and work together.

“A site’s bathing water quality is impacted by a whole range of factors from mis-connected drainage to agricultural run-off. We investigate and work closely with local partners at priority sites, such as Cullercoats, to tackle all factors influencing water quality.”