In a call for accountability, investment, and faster progress, campaigners have voiced concerns for Wales’s coastline after a Barry beach was given a ‘poor’ water quality rating.
Natural Resources Wales (NRW) classified Watch House Bay as ‘poor’ for the second time in three years under the Bathing Water Regulations 2013, prompting councillors to ask for urgent improvements.
NRW has launched the South Central Bathing Waters Project, aimed at identifying the causes of pollution and supporting “practical, long-term solutions.”
NRW said the project will take a “whole catchment approach,” examining rivers, towns, drainage systems, and the surrounding countryside.
A spokesperson said: “Improving bathing water quality is a challenge no single organisation can solve alone.
“We’re working with Dwr Cymru Welsh Water, Bridgend County Borough Council, Vale of Glamorgan Council, and Shared Regulatory Services to develop a joined-up plan for improving water quality.”
Dŵr Cymru Welsh Water said it is committed to supporting the investigation.
A spokesperson said: “Bathing water quality is impacted by a number of factors and sectors. We can only tackle this in partnership with our regulators and other sectors, and we are committed to working collaboratively on this.
“We are currently involved in an investigation into bathing waters at Ogmore-by-Sea and Watch House Bay to better understand what is affecting water quality in the Vale of Glamorgan and any role we can play to help drive improvement.”
This programme has been welcomed by many who frequent the water around Barry, including action group Surfers Against Sewage.
The action group campaigns for safer water and targets what campaigners describe as a “once-in-a-generation opportunity” to transform the Welsh water system.
Lucy Jones, a regional representative for Surfers Against Sewage, said: “For too long, people across Wales have endured sewage pollution, agricultural runoff and contaminated surface water entering the rivers and coastline they cherish.
“Surfers, swimmers, paddleboarders and local residents have repeatedly witnessed pollution events, while citizen scientists have gathered evidence that demonstrates the scale of the problem.
“The causes are well understood; what has been lacking is the urgency to deliver lasting solutions.”
Ms Jones believes that any initiative that tackles water pollution is a “positive step,” but that the communities will be able to judge its cleanliness by themselves – not by another report.
She continued: “We need accountability, transparent reporting and sustained investment in wastewater infrastructure and catchment management, and regulators must ensure that environmental laws are properly enforced.
“The public has waited long enough. We now need to see ambition matched by action, investment and results.”
Councillors representing Barry’s four bathing waters have voiced concerns about the quality of water at the site and called for greater clarity in the monitoring process.
Councillor Steffan Wiliam, who sits on the Vale of Glamorgan’s Place Committee, said: “It was only in 2023 that Watch Tower Bay was classed as bathing waters and therefore received regular water quality testing from Natural Resources Wales.
“However, why is it that the waters around Watch Tower Bay are deemed to be poor, when it is sandwiched between Cold Knap, which is deemed to have excellent water quality, and Whitmore Bay, which is good?”
Barry Town councillor Shirley Hodges said further action would be needed.
She said: “People deserve to know that they are swimming in clean water, and hopefully this new project will get to the bottom of why the Watch House Bay water is of poor quality.
“But finding out why the water quality is poor can only be a first step.
“We need faster action from both Dŵr Cymru Welsh Water and Natural Resources Wales to resolve the problems of foul water.”
