A 10-month partnership project that has improved the quality of bathing water at Southend ahead of the summer season has been hailed a success by the Environment Agency.
The Southend Water Quality and Improvement Project was set-up between Anglian Water, the Environment Agency, Southend Borough Council, and the Thames Estuary Partnership to address the issues affecting bathing water quality in Southend.
Beaches along the Southend coastline have historically experienced poor water quality, which can have an impact on shellfish businesses that operate in the area.
One of the eight bathing waters in the area was at risk of not meeting the revised Bathing Water Directive when it is introduced next year – as a result of the project it is now predicted to reach the ‘good’ standard.
Bathing water quality in Southend was being impacted by diffuse pollution, which comes from activities within the catchment such as urban and agricultural pollution from rainwater running off those surfaces, poor plumbing practices, dog mess, and littering, with misconnected foul sewers the most significant factor towards diffuse pollution.
A number of misconnected properties, including a newly built block of 40 flats which was entirely misconnected, were found and have now been rectified. Re-connecting these properties back to the correct foul drainage has taken tens of thousands of litres of polluted water away from discharging onto the bathing beaches.
A greater understanding of surface water outfalls in the area has contributed to an improvement in the bathing water quality results across the beaches in Southend. Between 15 and 20 per cent of the Southend sewer network has been assessed and mapped for the project, and many of the 53 outfalls along the seafront have seen an improvement in water quality.
Lucinda Gilfoyle, Anglian Water’s Catchment and Coastal Strategy Manager said:
“Last year we set out to find and fix many of the misconnected customer drains in Southend that were needlessly polluting the beaches, but it’s through working in close partnership with the Council, Thames Estuary Partnership and the Environment Agency that has really enabled us to make such a difference and achieve these great first year results. Diffuse pollution by its very nature comes from many different sources so we have to work together if we are to tackle the root of the problem. “
Over the next five years Anglian Water is planning significant investment in Southend to tackle the issue.
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