IT has been confirmed sewage was pumped into an area of the sea which is being monitored near to where the county’s premier sports tournament Ironman, takes place.
People were shocked and angry after reports of sewage discharges took place in Pembrokeshire waters in a 48-hour period on September 5.
Ironman Wales returns to the county on Sunday, September 11, with the gruelling physical challenge including the 2.4-mile swim course takes athletes twice around Goscar Rock in Carmarthen Bay.
However according to Surfers Against Sewage, their interactive map, which monitors sewage discharges on the UK coastline, showed discharges in areas including Wiseman’s Bridge, Broad Haven, Newport and Castle Beach Tenby.
One member of the public commented, “Wales waters welcome Ironman Triathlon. It’s honestly embarrassing that people have potentially paid hundreds of pounds to swim through sewage.”
Ironman organisers say they are monitoring the situation, carrying out regular water tests to ensure water quality is to an ‘excellent standard’.
“Ironman Wales is aware that Surfers Against Sewage has reported recent discharges at a nearby beach in Pembrokeshire,” said a spokesperson.
“We have received confirmation from Pembrokeshire County Council’s Pollution Team that there is currently no abnormal situation that would lead to the Council advising against swimming at Tenby North Beach.
“We are carrying out routine water tests to confirm the venue meets the high water quality standard set for our events and will continue to monitor water quality at North Beach in the lead-up to Ironman Wales on Sunday.
“The most recent testing carried out at North Beach has shown results well within the excellent standard.”
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Welsh Water has confirmed that combined storm overflows at Castle Beach in Tenby operated due to recent heavy rainfall.
“Heavy rain hit large parts of Wales over the weekend which would have meant some of our combined storm overflows (CSOs) temporarily operated,” said a Welsh Water spokesperson.
“This is what they are designed to do when the wastewater network in an area reaches capacity due to the volume of rainwater in it to prevent sewers from flooding customers’ homes and businesses.
If you’re heading to a Welsh beach, avoid these locations because raw sewage has just been discharged into the sea at Rest Bay, Swansea Bay, Wiseman’s Bridge, Castle Beach Tenby, Broad Haven, Newport Pembs, Llangrannog, Aberdyfi, Benllech. Thanks to @sascampaigns Safer Seas app. pic.twitter.com/1fZWt5uW8Q
— Siriol (@siriolg) September 5, 2022
“We have checked the CSOs which operated and found that they operated in compliance with our permit to operate them and as we always do with these CSOs we sent notifications to Surfers Against Sewage so that they were aware and could notify their members.
“We can confirm that our CSO at Castle Beach in Tenby operated due to the heavy rainfall experienced.”
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