Porthcawl beaches get top rating for water quality

Porthcawl’s beaches have been rated excellent by Natural Resources Wales (NRW) for the quality of their bathing water.

Three of the town’s seven bays - Rest Bay, Trecco Bay and Sandy Bay – were tested and retained their three-star rating, the highest classification awarded by NRW.

Councillor Charles Smith, Cabinet Member for Regeneration and Education, said: “This is excellent news for Porthcawl’s beaches. As a popular destination for surfers, kayakers, paddle-boarders, canoeists and others, including those who use the town’s new watersports centre, it’s reassuring to know Porthcawl offers the highest quality bathing waters.”

A classification of excellent water quality is one of the main requirements for applying for a Blue Flag award for 2021.

While the Covid-19 pandemic saw the start of the bathing water season delayed in Wales, NRW worked hard to ensure sampling took place at all 105 bathing sites from June.

Of the 105 Welsh beaches sampled by NRW, 84 achieved the highest classification of excellent, 14 good and seven sufficient.

Lord Dafydd Elis-Thomas, the Deputy Minister for Culture, Sport and Tourism, said: “While we know Covid-19 restrictions have impacted on our tourism and hospitality sector, these results show that Wales is still working hard to ensure the quality of its bathing waters – and we look forward to welcoming visitors to those waters as soon as we can.”