Another North East beach has had a pollution warning put in place, advising the public not to enter the water (September 6).
Marsden, near South Shields, does not have sewage discharged onto the beach directly, however, it is not far from the River Tyne which does see sewers overflowing into it, according to Surfers Against Sewage.
The warning is for pollution in general however, not for sewage specifically.
This is the second warning of this kind for a beach in our region in the last 24 hours as Seaton Carew had a similar warning in place yesterday (September 5).
Read more: Why a pollution warning has been put in place at this North East beach
A statement on the Surfers Against Sewage website which maps over 400 pollution overflows in the country and publishes water quality warnings said: “Pollution Risk Warning: Bathing not advised today due to the likelihood of reduced water quality.
“Marsden is set in an enclosed bay surrounded by high, steep cliffs. It is a sand and rock beach that slopes gently to the sea with rocky outcrops exposed at low tide.
“Although no sewer overflows discharge directly onto the beach here, the mouth of the River Tyne is just to the north and a number of sewers overflows discharge into it.”
When events that could reduce water quality occur, Surfers Against Sewage is automatically notified by the water company and issues a real-time sewage alert through the Safer Seas & Rivers Service so surfers, swimmers and other water-users can avoid this potentially harmful pollution incident.
A political argument broke out at the end of last month over sewage being pumped into the North Sea with Labour politicians slamming the government over a vote on the issue in 2021.
Read more: Bathing warning issued for North East beach popular with swimmers & paddleboarders
Environment Secretary George Eustice insisted storm overflows were “not a new challenge”, but instead “a legacy of the Victorian sewage infrastructure.”
A spokesperson for the Environment Agency told The Northern Echo: “There are a number of factors that can influence the quality of bathing waters. These include wind, sunlight, rain and tide and can lead to short term pollution arising as bacteria is washed into the sea.
“Sources of the bacteria can include water draining from agricultural and urban land during periods of heavy rain, as we have seen over the last couple of days.
“Short term pollution cases are where we expect the pollution to last for no more than 72 hours and we use the Pollution Risk Forecasting system to give out information when this will happen and to advise against bathing.”
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