Why aren't we testing Blackpool's sea water for sewage all year round?
The Environment Agency tests Blackpool sea water from May until September. Will Blackpool Council work with volunteers to help fill the rest of the year?
Year-round testing of Blackpool’s sea water is needed to properly assess the impact of pollution levels.
That was the verdict from both Dr Barbara Kneale, chair of Fylde Coast Against Sewage and Chris Webb, MP for Blackpool South, after a protest at the Comedy Carpet.
Both Fleetwood Town Council and Fylde Council have provided funding for Fylde Coast Against Sewage to undertake water testing at Marine Beach and St Annes North Beach respectively - but the wait for Blackpool Council to match this commitment continues.
The protest saw dozens gather at the Comedy Carpet on Sunday (3 November) with an overriding message of ‘species, not faeces’ and a call for more stricter measures on water companies that cannot effectively keep our water clean.
The demonstration in Blackpool mirrored one taking place in London which saw thousands march in blue for clean, safe water.
Kneale told The Blackpool Lead at the protest on Sunday: “As somebody of an age that can remember the sea when it was dirty, and then how proud we were when we got our Blue Flag, it’s disgusting that it’s been allowed to slip back into dirtiness again.
“If the bathing water has got pollution then you can’t swim in the water, you’re advised not to paddle in the water. I wouldn’t advise that your children play in the sand, because the water mixes with the sand.”
A Blackpool Council spokesperson told The Blackpool Lead: “We have met with representatives from Fylde Coast Against Sewage. We are always keen to work with organisations who share of our aim of improving the quality of our bathing waters.
“Following our meeting we are looking at what support they can offer and where it could have the greatest impact.”
Chris Webb told The Blackpool Lead: “Last week I wrote to Blackpool Council in support of Fylde Coast Against Sewage and its efforts to fill the gaps in the Environment Agency’s water quality testing along our coastline.”
He added: “In a meeting with council representatives this summer, I urged representatives to work with FCAS to extend their testing to Blackpool. I am pleased to hear that the group has since met with the council’s head of coastal and environmental partnership investments but is awaiting further instructions on whether the council will fund its testing – it only requires a relatively small pot of money.
“In my letter, I urged the council again to allow FCAS to begin this important work as soon as possible. It is vital that we gain a better understanding of the state of our sea so we can hold those who continue to pollute it to account.”
Pollution, particularly from sewage, impacts residents and visitors alike in Blackpool. Blackpool Council estimated that more than 20 million people visited in 2022
But while the testing from the Environment Agency means that we know that Blackpool’s sea water was unsafe for visitors for at least 59 days this year, testing only took place for a 153-day period between May and September. It is this gap that Fylde Coast Against Sewage wants to work with Blackpool Council to fix.
Kneale said: “We have many swimming groups along the coast who swim not just between May and September [when the water is tested] but all year round. They haven’t been able to go out swimming. The brave ones that have, have ended up being poorly with diarrhoeal illness so it has a big impact on people’s health and wellbeing, and it spoils people’s holiday.
“Fleetwood Town Council funded us to do water testing up at Marine Beach and Fylde Council funded us to do water testing at St Annes North Beach - this is good.
“We are trying to get Blackpool Council to give us some funding to do some testing at Blackpool - although that’s been a little bit harder. Although I have to say Chris Webb is supporting us there in lobbying the council.”
The pattern of deterioration in Blackpool’s sea water has been stark. While in 2019 the Environment Agency classified all Blackpool’s bathing water as good, in 2023 it was downgraded to sufficient for Blackpool Central and South – and insufficient for Blackpool North.
Fylde Coast Against Sewage, set up to highlight problems surrounding pollution into the sea, was established in the wake of the breakdown of the pipe from Fleetwood Wastewater Treatment Works in June 2023. United Utilities claimed at the time that the spillage was due to a fracture on the pipe that sends the cleaned water from the Fleetwood Wastewater Treatment Works out to sea and it spilled treated clean water within the treatment works site – not sewage.
Kneale added: “I believe the problem [at Fleetwood] is now fixed but we still have problems along various beaches on the Fylde Coast.”
Steve Reed, Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, told The Blackpool Lead: “I share the public’s anger about the appalling state of our waterways. That is why I took immediate action to start cleaning up the pollution scandal.
“Within 70 days of the election, I introduced new laws to ban the payment of unfair bonuses to polluting water bosses, and bring criminal charges against those who persistently break the law.
“I’ve launched a powerful Commission to lead a root and branch review of the entire water sector to put right what’s gone so badly wrong.
“Our children deserve the same chance we had to enjoy clean waterways for swimming, rowing, surfing or fishing. This is our chance to clean up our rivers, lakes and seas for good.”
Kneale would like to see water companies nationalised in the long-term - something the Labour government is not backing at present.
She said: “My own personal view is that we should nationalise the water companies again. If you have an organisation whose prime role is to make profit, then the quality of the water is always going to come second.
“If you’re not going to do that straight away, and I understand at the moment we have lots of problems, you should be hitting water companies hard with fines and making sure they’re doing their job and monitoring them.
“The EA needs more staff. Over the last 14 years, they’ve lost 70% of their resources. So nobody is monitoring these water companies in the way that they should be doing. And unfortunately, United Utilities is the worst offender from a sewage perspective.”
A United Utilities spokesperson told The Blackpool Lead: “The North West coastline has seen billions of pounds of investment over the last 30 years and we are now able to store and treat more wastewater than ever before.
“Thanks to recent schemes like the Anchorsholme Park storage tank and the new pumping station and long sea outfall, the impact of storm water has been dramatically reduced along the coast. We remain committed to working together with other agencies as part of the Turning Tides partnership to tackle all factors that can affect water quality. ”
Fylde Coast Against Sewage would like residents in the area to get involved in the work they do - most of which is on a voluntary basis.
If funding is secured from Blackpool Council to test this winter, they will be asking for people to join them in carrying out the work.
You can follow what they’re up to on Facebook here.