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There are a variety of water sources within the district which are of great importance for tourism, recreation, agriculture and wildlife.
Bathing water quality, of obvious importance to both residents and visitors, is regularly monitored throughout each bathing season. Environmental Health's Pollution Team is responsible for evaluating the weekly results and displaying them in a bathing water quality information poster, which is disseminated to the public via a number of organisations, including the local libraries. Bathing water quality results from previous years are available from the Environment Agency.
The water quality of the River Arun is also of great importance.There have been no major pollution incidents in the recent past, but there is a risk of pollutants spreading through the ditch system. This risk is highlighted by the increase in nitrogen levels arising from agricultural run off.
The main regulator for water pollution is the Environment Agency. Sea water, rivers, streams and lakes, are monitored to ensure that the quality of the water meets with required standards laid down in various regulations.
For further information on Water Pollution see http://www.water-pollution.org.uk/
Click on any of the following headings to go straight to the relevant section:
Sea Water
In accordance with the Bathing Waters (Classification) Regulations 1991, there are six European designated bathing beaches within the district, namely: Littlehampton (Coastguards); Middleton-on-Sea (Templesheen Road); Felpham (Blakes Road); Bognor Regis (East of the Pier); Bognor Regis (Aldwick) and Pagham (Beach Road).
During 1997 and 1998 Arun led a community "Campaign for Cleaner Seas", which fought to obtain the best possible sewage treatment for the Arun area. In July 1998, the Environment Minister confirmed in full, that secondary (biological) treatment was required.
During 2001, Southern Water commissioned a new waste water treatment works (WWTW) at Ford Aerodrome to treat sewage from the district. The £53 million scheme involves the transfer of wastewater to the new works via two underground pipelines. These flows are screened and settled before undergoing biological treatment. The treated wastewater is then transferred back to Littlehampton where it is released back into the sea through the existing long sea outfall. This level of sewage treatment should result in improved sea water quality in the future.
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Monitoring
A minimum number of twenty sea water samples are taken by the Environment Agency (EA) every year during the bathing season (usually from May to September) from each designated bathing water to assess the microbiological and physico-chemical quality. Each sample is analysed by the EA laboratory and compared against maximum permissible levels for certain parameters.
The microbiological quality of bathing water is assessed on the presence and quantity of certain bacteria. The Bathing Waters Directive lists two sets of standards; guideline and mandatory, which are based on the amount of each bacteria present in a 100 ml water sample. The following table lists the maximum permissible level of bacteria for each standard:
|
Standard |
Total coliforms
(numbers present) |
Faecal coliforms
(number present) |
Faecal streptococci
(numbers present) |
|
Guideline |
500 |
100 |
100 |
|
Mandatory |
10,000 |
2,000 |
N/A |
(Each designated bathing water must meet at least the mandatory standard to be classed as acceptable in quality under the Regulations. The guideline standards set much stricter levels and if a bathing water meets these standards it can be classed as being of excellent quality).
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Bathing water quality results
The bathing season runs from May to September. During this period, six designated bathing waters were sampled on a weekly basis by the Environment Agency. For the lastest results please click the link bathing water quality results. The table below shows you the bathing water history for Littlehampton and Bognor. M = Mandatory Standard Pass and G = Guideline Standard Pass.
|
|
Beach |
2001 |
2002 |
2003 |
2004 |
2005 |
2006 |
2007 |
2008 |
2009 |
|
Littlehampton |
G |
G |
G |
G |
G |
M |
G |
G |
G |
|
Bognor Regis East |
M |
M |
G |
G |
G |
G |
M |
G |
M |
New Bathing Water Directive
The revised Bathing Water Directive (2006/7/EC) came into force on 24 March 2006. The overall objective of the revised Directive remains the protection of public health whilst bathing, but it also offers an opportunity to improve management practices at bathing waters and to standardise the information provided to bathers across Europe.
The UK has a period of two years from 24 March 2006 in which to bring into force any new national laws, regulations or administrative processes needed to comply with the revised Directive. However, it will take longer than this to bring the Directive into full effect as there are a number of deadlines to be met, the latest of which is in 2015. By this time, the revised Directive should be in operation across the whole of the European Union.
The revised Directive has updated the way in which water quality is measured, focusing on fewer microbiological indicators, and setting different standards for inland and coastal bathing sites. In particular:
· tighter microbiological standards - to be met by 2015
· two microbiological parameters - Intestinal enterococci and Escherichia coli
· water quality classification based on 3 or 4 years monitoring data, using 95 or 90 percentiles
· four new classification categories
|
Excellent |
approximately twice as stringent as the current guideline standard |
|
Good |
similar to the current guideline standard |
|
Sufficient |
tighter than the current mandatory standard |
|
Poor |
normally non-compliant water |
According to current DEFRA information, beaches in the Arun District are likely to be classified as follows:
Littlehampton and Pagham - Excellent quality
Felpham and Bognor Regis East - Good quality
Middleton-on-Sea and Bognor Regis - Sufficient quality
These classifications have been made using water quality information from 2002 - 2005, and assuming that no further improvements are made. It has not yet been decided whether Blue Flag classifications will be dependent on water quality of 'good' standard or 'excellent standard'. This decision will obviously have an impact on whether or not Bognor Regis East can continue to apply for a Blue Flag.
The Environment Agency will continue to undertake the water sampling and analysis for all bathing waters.
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Blue Flag and Quality Coast Award
The European Blue Flag Campaign and The Quality Coast Awards are both run by ENCAMS.org
A European Blue Flag is presented for beaches which have achieved the bathing water directive guideline standards for microbiological and physico-chemical parameters, and a further 26 land based criteria.
The Quality Coast Awards are presented for beaches which have achieved the Bathing water directive mandatory standards for microbiological parameters, and a further 28 land based criteria.
Quality Coast Awards recognise different types of beach throughout England which achieve the highest standards, but which do not necessarily have their water quality measured. Further information on these awards is available on www.qualitycoast.org.
Littlehampton and Bognor Regis were awarded the Quality Coast award for 2010 and Littlehampton was awarded the Blue Flag for 2010.
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European Commission LIFE Programme - Indicators of Viruses in Seawater
In 1999, the Pollution Team completed a jointly funded project with the European Commission LIFE Programme into alternative indicators of viruses in sea water. The project involved over 35 sampling trips to sea and the collection of over 550 water samples over a two year period. The findings of the project were announced at an important conference in Arun in December 1999, which made a significant contribution to the debate on sea water quality issues and future legislation in this area. The offshore sampling undertaken throughout the project has shown that the waters around the sewage outfall points consistently fail to comply with bathing water standards, confirming the need for surfers and boat users to avoid water contact in the areas around sewage outfalls.
The main conclusions of the study were as follows:
= Bacterial indicators which are commonly measured are not correlated to the presence of entero-viruses in sea water
= Bacteriophages (small virus-like organisms) are unlikely to be a good indicator of faecal pollution E-coli and total coliform bacteria are closely correlated and it is probably not cost effective to measure for both groups of organisms. This could result in substantial financial savings across Europe
= The public health laboratory service at Reading were involved in analysis for viruses and have been researching new methods to detect viruses. The method involved polymerase chain reaction (PCR) could be a possible future cost effective way of checking for viruses in sea water
Full copies of the report, price £40, are available on request from the Pollution Team. A summary leaflet of the study is also available. View leaflet (PDF 3.37MB)
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Drinking Water
Mains Water Supply
The majority of homes in the district are supplied with drinking water directly from a mains pipe, which is the direct responsibility of the regional water company. In general, the east of the district is supplied by Southern Water Services Ltd and the west by Portsmouth Water Plc. Each company has a duty to ensure that the water supplied is fit for human consumption and meets specific standards.
Public water supplies in England are regulated by the Drinking Water Inspectorate (DWI). It is responsible for checking that water companies are supplying water that is fit for human consumption and meet the standards set in the Water Quality Regulations. It also investigates complaints from consumers and incidents which affect or could affect drinking water quality.
Details on the performance of each water company are given in an annual report published by the DWI. You can view the most recent report published, for performance in 2006. Following higher than desirable levels of nitrate in some borehole water sources in the district, the Council has supported the application for Nitrate Vulnerable Zone designation for some catchments.
Private Water Supply
A private water supply serves premises which are not directly connected to a mains supply, and therefore not regulated by a water company (e.g. Southern Water or Portsmouth Water). Private water supplies are usually sourced by boreholes or wells.
New legislation came into force on 1st January 2010. The Private Water Supplies Regulations 2009 require that Local Authorities complete a risk assessment of all Private Water Supplies in their area by 2015. The regulations also require that Local Authorities monitor private water supplies in their district to ensure the water is wholesome.
There are currently 10 private water supplies identified within the district, supplying 14 domestic properties and pitches at 2 caravan parks. However, due to the introduction of Private Distribution Systems in the new legislation (where water is supplied from the mains, then further distributed by another person), it is likely that the number of sites that the Council monitors will increase.
Private water supplies in Arun have to be registered with us. To register a supply, please contact the pollution team. E-mail:pollution@arun.gov.uk
The Private Water Supplies Website gives further information on this subject. However, you should note that this although much of this information is appropriate, it is primarily a Scottish site, and therefore any legal information may not be directly relevant.
Radon and Private Water Supplies
The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) has recently informed local authorities of a study regarding elevated levels of Radon found in private water supplies. There are currently no private water supplies in Arun which are likely to be affected by Radon. For information on Radon gas see RADIATION section.
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National Water Quality
National water quality statistics are included in the key environmental statistics published by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) in the annual booklet "The Environment in your pocket".
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