The appearance of this substance at Cold Knap Beach comes at a time when other areas of Barry, particularly just around the corner at Watch House Bay, are already facing scrutiny due to high pollution levels in the water.
Earlier this summer, it was announced that Watch House Bay would be part of a Natural Resources Wales programme that would aim to uncover the causes behind the pollution that classifies the bathing spot as ‘poor’.
Cold Knap Beach is a designated bathing spot and so is part of the bathing water monitoring programme, which is why locals raised the alarm after a sewage pollution alert was recorded from a Welsh Water drain on August 20.
Welsh Water told the Barry and District News that they had investigated this alert that was issued for a three-minute spill from the Cold Knap storm overflow on this date but that it was a “false report and no spill took place.”
Their data has since been updated to reflect this.
A spokesperson for Natural Resources Wales said that they were aware of reports of discoloured water and foam at Cold Knap Beach.
They said: “Based on the information currently available, we believe this is likely to be naturally occurring marine algae, which can cause brown discolouration and foam in coastal waters, particularly during periods of warm weather.
“Cold Knap is a designated bathing water and has consistently achieved an Excellent bathing water classification.
“There are no direct storm overflows onto Cold Knap beach. While notification apps can provide useful information, they do not provide a direct indication of bathing water quality or confirm pollution incidents. Information on wastewater assets and storm overflow locations is available from Dŵr Cymru Welsh Water.”
Anyone who suspects pollution is advised to report any incidents to Natural Resources Wales through their 24-hour incident hotline on 0300 065 3000, or via their website.
