How contaminated is Sunderland's sea water? How to to get the pollution information you need before a dip at Roker, Seaburn and the rest of the North East

It is a busy time of year for beaches across the region and groups are looking to ensure swimmers remain safe.
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Beaches throughout the summer holidays are at the busiest they will be all year.

But with so many people heading to the coast – and concerns about sewage overflows at Britain’s beaches - it’s vital to know how clean coastal water is across the North East.

How can I check before I head to the beach?

High summer temperatures at Seaburn Beach. High summer temperatures at Seaburn Beach.
High summer temperatures at Seaburn Beach.
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The group Surfers Against Sewage (SAS) has launched the newest version of an interactive map which shows up to date pollution forecasts at over 400 coastal locations across the UK, including a handful in and around Sunderland.

This tracks sewage overflows which may impact popular coastal locations and pollution risk forecasts to give beach goers a full understanding of the quality of the water they could be swimming in.

The alerts are put into four categories, the first shows there are no alerts in place, a second which shows there is a risk warning in place, another which suggests water quality information is not available and a fourth which means local sewer systems are under maintenance and real time alerts have been disabled.

What is the situation in the North East?

Luckily for those who spend their summers at beaches in and around Sunderland, the map does not show any issues with water quality at beaches along the Sunderland coast.

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This is part of a wider trend which sees no issues with any coastal locations across the North East, according to the group.

However, Northumbrian Water has admitted to a recent discharge at Spittal, near Berwick, in Northumberland, which it claimed was “mostly rainwater with a small percentage of wastewater”, with SAS aware of the potential for issues following bad weather.

Although no current issues of note can be found at Seaburn beach, according to the group’s map “there are three high level sewer overflows discharging to the beach which may affect water quality especially after heavy rainfall".

Where else can I get information on water quality?

Further information can be found from The Rivers Trust, which has signalled two points of interest at Seaburn beach. These are two combined sewage overflows which are designed to collect rainwater, domestic sewage and industrial wastewater in the same pipe and remove any additional waste.

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During periods of heavy rain, these can overflow, forcing any additional fluid in these pipes to run out into the sea. This is also the case further south at Seaham beach, although it is currently of no concern to either group due to the warm, dry weather we have experienced this summer.