Gunner: Southern Water 'need to step up' after Aldwick bathing water rated 'poor'

Aldwick is one of only two bathing sites on the south east coast to have received the negative rating, the other being St Mary’s Bay in Kent.

Environment Agency inspectors found increased levels of E.coli and Intestinal Enterococci in the water throughout the year. One sample on September 14 found 930 colonies of E.coli and 2,400 colonies of Intestinal Enterococci per 100ml of water.

Intestinal Enterococci is found in the intestinal tract of warm-blooded animals and is often used to indicate possible contamination of water by fecal waste.

Arun District Council leader Shaun Gunner said the rating could have a detrimental effect on Bognor’s tourism economy. He promised to 'push hard’ on Southern Water to address residents’ concerns and take bathing water quality seriously.

"We pay Southern Water to provide us with water and remove our waste. We know some of that waste ends up in the sea, and we’re now being told that the government are advising against swimming there,” he said.

"They have really got to step up. They have got to realise that their customers are not being provided for. If they were a local council, they would be hung out to dry by the electorate. But we all have no choice. We have to use Southern Water.

"They are fielding a public service and it’s not being provided.”

Aldwick wasn’t the only bathing site to fall down the rankings. Neighbouring Bognor Regis East fell from ‘excellent’ to simply ‘good.’

Felpham and Littlehampton’s bathing waters were rated ‘good’, while Pagham and Middleton were deemed ‘excellent’ by inspectors.

A spokesperson for Southern Water said bathing water quality ratings are affected by a range of complex factors and teams are working to find out more about the drop in quality at Aldwick.

"We're working with the Environment Agency and other partners to investigate what could have impacted the bathing water at that location,” they said.

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