Southern Water has published its annual Bathing Water Report, which sets out what the company doing to protect and enhance coastal environments.

This publication responds directly to the government announcement of 2023’s bathing water classifications, which ranks 88% of Southern's 84 designated bathing waters as ‘good’ or ‘excellent’.

Southern Water has a large part to play in improving and maintaining water quality, but there are lots of other factors that can impact it, such as agricultural, highways and industrial runoff, as well as the impact of animals and marine activity. That is why we work closely with a wide range of partners and experts to address issues when they arise.

We are already teaming up locally to investigate a small number of classification concerns. Our investigations have found limited correlation with storm overflows, and instead we are working hard to track and tackle privately owned wastewater pipes which have been illegally connected to surface water drains, as well as leaking sewers.

Bob Collington, Southern Water’s Managing Director for wastewater, said:

“Our coastal environment is a precious resource throughout the year. It brings us pleasure. It provides our livelihoods, and it sustains our communities. That’s why we take our impact on water quality extremely seriously.

“Cleaner seas do not come from resolving a single issue. Sometimes, we simply don’t know what’s impacting water quality in a particular location. But what we can do is provide a framework to investigate the source and work with our partners to put it right.”

Key findings in the report include:

Event Duration Monitoring

The water company now has greater than 99% Event Duration Monitoring installed, which will be 100% by the end of December this year. This year Southern Water reported to the Environment Agency that there was a total of 829 storm overflow release events an increase since last year. However, the utility said there has been a significant increase in rainfall compared to 2022, which was a relatively dry year.

Bathing water classifications 2023

The 2023 classifications present a mixed picture. Eastbourne is now classified as Good from its Sufficient class in 2022 and Normans Bay has improved to Excellent this year from good last season.

However, Littlestone and Southsea East have joined St Mary’s Bay and Bognor Regis Aldwick in the Poor category.

Analysis of the operation of overflows and high concentration bathing water results shows that 87% of high concentration samples were not collected within 72 hours of an overflow. Storm overflows are not a major contributor factor in bathing water quality, the report says.

Southern is working closely with the relevant local authorities whose bathing waters are Poor and Sufficient in this year’s classifications. Private drainage and cess pit management, together with misconnections, are among several factors the company is currently examining.

Cick here to download the report