Advice against bathing at the Western Undercliff in Ramsgate, put in place yesterday (August 3) has been lifted.
Thanet council put ‘no swimming’ signs in place after advice from the Environment Agency due to a discharge incident that occurred Sunday evening. No swimming advice was also issued for Sandwich Bay which comes under Dover district.
The Environment Agency took water samples from WUC at 11pm which returned contamination of less than 0.1 ppm, the lowest level the test can record.
A Southern Water spokesperson said: “Our teams continue to respond to a burst sewer pipe between Golf Road Wastewater Pumping Station in Deal and Weatherlees Wastewater Treatment Works in Ramsgate.
“Wastewater has been rerouted within our network and repair work to the sewer pipe is continuing.
“Independent environmental specialists Adler & Allan are carrying out water quality sampling and environmental monitoring in Minster Stream, where we isolated the affected section. The latest results show that any initial impact has now passed.
“We continue to work closely with the Environment Agency, and we’re sorry for the concern this incident has caused local residents and businesses.”
This morning the advisory against bathing was lifted at 10am following two tidal cycles, and low water sampling results. The Environment Agency has removed its advice against bathing at the two sites from Swimfo.
An Environment Agency spokesperson said: “Southern Water discharged sewage into a stream after a rising main burst on Sunday. The Environment Agency closed a sluice gate to stop the effluent reaching the River Stour.
“We also oversaw Southern Water removing the sewage. As a precaution, we posted on Swimfo that bathing wasn’t advised at Ramsgate Western Undercliff and Sandwich Bay. That advice was lifted on Monday.
“The annual classifications have rated most bathing waters along that north-east stretch of coast as good or excellent for several years.”
Anyone with concerns about suspected pollution in our seas and rivers to contact the Environment Agency’s 24-hour incident hotline: 0800 807060.
So glad they’re providing this excellent level of service having only doubled out bills in the last few years! If anything, we should be paying them more, so good are they at their jobs!