Worthing water quality takes a dip

Worthing’s bathing water quality has taken a dip according to the latest government figures.

The rating at the main beach has dropped from good to sufficient and Worthing Beach House – by Splashpoint – is rated as poor, having only been designated as a bathing spot this year.

Goring Beach is also rated for the first time, getting a sufficient score, meaning all three of the district’s beaches have one of the lowest two ratings.

Environment Agency Chair Alan Lovell said: “While overall bathing water quality has improved in recent decades due to targeted investment and robust regulation, today’s results show there is much work still to do.”

Water Minister Emma Hardy said: “These figures are unacceptable and show that too many of our popular swimming spots are polluted.

“That’s why we are placing water companies under special measures through the Water Bill, which will strengthen regulation including new powers to ban the payment of bonuses for polluting water bosses and bring criminal charges against persistent law breakers.

“This is just the start – we’ve launched the largest review of the water sector since privatisation to attract the investment we need and reform the water system to help clean up our rivers, lakes and seas for good.”

However, the Environment Agency said that newly designated sites such as Worthing Beachhouse and Goring were expected to have poorer ratings than existing ones.

Of the 27 new bathing sites, 18 are classified as poor. The Environment Agency said: “This is not unexpected, as the new sites have not been managed for bathing before, and it takes time to understand and tackle the sources of pollution affecting them.”

Elsewhere in Sussex, only Bognor Regis Aldwick beach has been rated poor, as it was in 2023, with Bognor Regis East dropping from good to sufficient.

In the east, Bexhill retains a sufficient rating.

All other Sussex beaches are rated either good or excellent – with Hastings Pelham Beach improving from good, Rottingdean being rated good in its first year, and Lancing dropping from excellent to good.

According to the Environment Agency, samples taken at Worthing Beachhouse only once found enough E-coli to downgrade it from good, on 20 August this year.

However, samples with enough intestinal enterococci – another bacteria found in human and animal poo – to give it a poor rating were taken on three occasions last summer. On 20 August, a sample with four times as much was taken.

Similarly high levels were found in a sample taken on the same date at Worthing beach. However, this was disregarded because it was deemed to be short term pollution, unlike the Worthing Beachhouse sample.