A businessman has called for action after Cullercoats beach has been again given a "poor" rating for its water-quality.
For the second year running, 33 of the region's 34 designated bathing waters have achieved either ‘excellent' or ‘good' ratings, with the number achieving the highest categorisation rising from 24 to 25.
A further eight are ‘good', while work continues at Cullercoats, to identify and remedy the causes of it being rated ‘poor', the only bathing water not to pass the standards.
Now, Simon Laing, who owns CBK Adventure, a firm that provides water-sports instruction on Cullercoats Bay, has come forward to say more needs to be done.
"Cullercoats is one of just nine beaches in the UK that's not up to standard," he said.
"It has been a year since the last rating and they have recorded another set of inadequate results."
He wants the water to be tested twice a week in summer time, with testing ongoing through out the year, and he wants it to be sorted out by the start of the next bathing season in March.
Mr Laing has a masters degree in marine science, and says that he carries out risk assessments to keep his customers safe on the water.
"None of my customers have ever fell sick as a result of the activities I run.
"We give people advice and make sure they are hosed down after they have been on the water.
"I carry out risk assessments and modify the activities accordingly.
"I am content that as a business we can manage risk but it is bigger than just us.
"In the summer time if you come down at 4.30pm there is rubbish strewn across the beach, if you have a lot of pollution coming in from the land that is not helpful."
Mr Laing is now starting an action group so that users of Cullercoats Bay can get their voices heard.
He added: "There is a coastal revival up and down the county, that's why I have started the user group.
"The authorities need to communicate with us better, they say they have spent hundreds of thousands of pounds on this by they never talk about it.
"We are trying to build Cullercoats up as destination, we want people to feel like they can relax and take their families down to the beach and swim and enjoy the water. I can manage our risk but I can't manage it for other people."
Despite the issues at Cullercoats, more North East bathing waters than ever before have been rated ‘excellent' in the latest classifications.
A joint investigation between the Environment Agency, North Tyneside Council and Northumbrian Water, regarding the deterioration of bathing water quality at Cullercoats, continues.
So far DNA analysis has been conducted to identify sources of pollution and more than 100 properties have been checked and 10 misconnected pipes repaired.
Meanwhile some 3,500m of pipe inspected with cameras and any defects fixed with 150m of pipe coated with a special lining to prevent leaks
Suspected ‘pollution pathways’ have been inspected using a special dye and 80 highways gullies checked for misconnections and pipework failures.
Six soakways and gullies have been sealed to prevent foul water entering the ground and issues at private properties resolved
More than 450 water samples have been taken and investigations into an old culverted watercourse have taken place.
The partnership is also trying to understand the geology and impacts from groundwater
Richard Warneford, Northumbrian Water’s wastewater director, said: “We are very proud of the quality of bathing waters up and down the North East coast and the really strong results at 33 out of our region’s 34 bathing waters back this up. So, on the rare occasion when there is a deterioration in quality of the sea water, we do everything we can to rectify that.
“A joint investigation between the Environment Agency, North Tyneside Council and Northumbrian Water, which started in September 2017, is continuing, to identify and remedy the cause or causes of the localised deterioration of bathing water quality at Cullercoats. This work will continue until we see the desired improvements in quality and we will draw upon all of the expertise available to do so, including outside experts.
“As a partnership, we have already ruled out a number of potential factors and the Environment Agency has continued testing outside of the normal bathing water season, with results that show some signs for optimism.
“It’s important to note, however, that bathing water classification is based upon samples taken across four years. Therefore, while many of these indicate healthy conditions at Cullercoats, a number of historical spikes will continue to affect the overall categorisation for some time.
“On a positive note, this activity has identified and allowed proactive measures to be taken on a number of third party sites, as well as on parts of our network, that will help protect against potential future problems that could otherwise one day have a detrimental effect on the local environment.”
Phil Scott, Head of Environment, Housing and Leisure at North Tyneside Council, added: “We are pleased that four of the bathing water classifications reported to us by Defra are excellent but like everyone else we are disappointed that Cullercoats Bay is classed as poor.
“We have been, and continue to, work with Northumbrian Water and the Environment Agency to identify the complex issues affecting the bathing water quality.
“The multi-agency investigation will continue until the water quality matches our aspirations and Cullercoats joins our other beaches as having Blue Flag status.”
.jpg?w=600)
