Charmouth residents hit back over report on water quality (From Bridport and Lyme Regis News)

Charmouth residents hit back over report on water quality

10:00am Saturday 29th September 2012 in Lyme Regis By Rene Gerryts

RESIDENTS have hit back after Charmouth came under fire for its poor water quality.

The Sunday Times published a story saying tests revealed the worst bathing water quality standard for more than a decade, with Charmouth included in that list.

But that doesn’t tell the whole story, say people in Charmouth.

Parish clerk Lisa Tuck said two tests on water quality after the floods had been poor but that was out of a total of 21 tests.

She said: “For 14 weeks the tests said the water was excellent. For five weeks it was good and for two it was poor. There have been a lot of floods this year and when you get floods you get all the rubbish washing down from the fields and that is what has happened.

“Out of 21 weeks we have had two poor results from the Environment Agency tests.”

She said tests were carried out weekly and whenever there were poor results ‘no swimming’ signs were put up until test results improved.

She added: “There was a slurry leak earlier in the season, which certainly didn’t help the situation.

“You could get a year when we don’t have any floods and everything would be hunky dory again.”

Tourism PR expert Doug Goodman, who has a home in Lyme Regis , said: “One wonders if the list published by the Sunday Times is a full list and how they chose the names. It was certainly surprising that Charmouth was singled out.”

Ben Vizard from the Environment Agency said the official figures were not out until November. He added: “This is very unusual for Charmouth.

The reasoning is the seriously bad weather. We had two big storms that coincided with when we were sampling. We are constantly looking to improve those diffuse pollution sites which cause the pollution when it rains.”

Robert Keirle Marine Conservation Society pollution manager said: “It is true that the results for the UK are going to be the worst for a decade because of the weather. But the water companies don’t get off scot free because if you get more rain falling the sewers fill up quicker, you get more overflows from the sewers and you get more untreated sewage spilling into rivers and into the coastal waters.”