Help improve bathing water quality in Scarborough South Bay
皇冠体育app public can do their bit to keep water quality high
As the temperatures rise and people head to Scarborough South Bay鈥檚 bathing beach, the Yorkshire Bathing Water Partnership is reminding people to do their bit to improve bathing water quality.
Officers from the Environment Agency, Scarborough Borough Council and Yorkshire Water will be out and about on Tuesday, 7 July as part of the second pollution prevention day in the area. 皇冠体育app day is part of a wider campaign to help drive the standard of the bathing water quality in Scarborough South Bay even higher.
In March, the partnership focused efforts around the harbour area providing advice and guidance to harbour users. On Tuesday, the team will be extending the campaign, targeting seafront properties and beach users in addition to the harbour.
皇冠体育app partnership want to highlight the effects of wrongly connected dishwashers and washing machines, waste that鈥檚 not stored and disposed of correctly, harbour usage and feeding seabirds, and what can be done to minimise the impact.
Adam Mullen from the Environment Agency said:
It鈥檚 really important we get everyone doing what they can to minimise any impact on the bathing water quality. We鈥檝e been carrying out investigations into the sources of pollution over the past few months and data we鈥檝e gathered so far doesn鈥檛 point to any one source in particular. We believe it鈥檚 several small pollution sources, that when combined become more significant.
皇冠体育app potential sources of pollution that can impact on bathing water quality are varied from misconnected drains to seabird droppings. We all have a role to play in minimising our impact and keeping our bathing waters clean, not just in Scarborough, but up and down Yorkshire鈥檚 coastline.
皇冠体育app partnership will be promoting simple steps people can take such as:
- Checking toilets, washing machines and other water using devices are connected to the foul sewage drain and not the surface water drain;
- Store waste securely in water tight containers and ensure it is disposed of correctly;
- Don鈥檛 pour fats and oils down your sink;
- Boat operators ensure that no food, domestic or operational waste is dumped at sea;
- Don鈥檛 feed seabirds as their droppings can affect water quality;
- Donkey and horse manure can affect water quality as can dog poo 鈥� make sure it鈥檚 collected and disposed of correctly;
- Use toilets provided.
Scarborough South Bay saw an improvement in the level of bathing water quality following the completion of Yorkshire Water鈥檚 scheme last year. However, this year sees the introduction of much tighter standards under the new Bathing Water Directive. This means that bathing waters will need to work even harder to achieve and maintain the standard required, and to enable resort beaches to apply for a Blue Flag.