Sewage alerts lifted from Barafundle, Wisemans Bridge and Saundersfoot beaches

The alerts affecting Barafundle, Saundersfoot and Wisemans Bridge beaches were put out by the Safer Seas and Rivers Service (SSRS) during the week.

The SSRS interactive map today, Sunday August 28, indicates that there are no longer any alerts in place for any areas in Wales.

The SSRS map today, Sunday August 28, with no pollution alerts shown

SSRS monitors water quality at over 400 river and coastline locations around the UK.

Pembrokeshire County Council displayed a warning notice at Wisemans Bridge earlier this week. Picture: Gareth Davies Photography

Wisemans Bridge was the first area to have a pollution alert in place, and this occurred last Wednesday, August 24,  with Pembrokeshire County Council warning there was 'a risk of infection' to those entering the sea.

Barafundle Beach

The Barafundle announcement was made on the evening of Thursday, August 25, when SSRS confirmed that the area had been contaminated by raw sewage which has been discharged from a nearby sewer overflow.

A further pollution alert was put in place at Saundersfoot and members of the public were being advised to avoid swimming in each of these three locations.

READ MORE

• Fears grow over sewage pollution risk at Wiseman's Bridge
• Barafundle Bay issued with raw sewage warning

The sewage pollution outbreak has prompted widespread concern in each of the affected areas.

“It all appears to have come to light this week but we’ve been noticing a potential problem for a considerable length of time,” commented a resident at Wisemans Bridge.

“Two weeks ago a friend of mine counted ten dead trout in the water further upstream towards Stepaside which suggests that things weren't as they should have been.”

In a statement, Dwr Cymru pointed the finger of blame on the heavy rain which hit South Pembrokeshire over the previous few days.

“This meant that some of our combined storm overflows (CSOs) operated which is what they’re designed to do when the waste water network in an area reaches capacity due to the volume of rainwater,” said a Dwr Cymru spokesperson.

“This prevents sewers from flooding customers’ homes and businesses.

"Whilst we cannot completely remove CSOs from our system as it would cost anywhere between £9 - £14 billion and involve digging up almost every street in Wales, our CSOs are mainly operating as designed and permitted.

"However we recognise that with environmental legislation tightening and customer expectations changing, more needs to be done to improve their performance.”