This keeps happening, maybe the beach should be made no swimming all year around?
A FULL clean-up has been completed at West Shore after raw sewage leaked from the Welsh Water pumping station, prompting environmental concerns and urgent action.
Beachgoers reported seeing sewage seeping from beneath a roller-shutter door at the pumping station in Dale Road car park last week.
Welsh Water confirmed the leak was caused by a blockage, which resulted in a small amount of foul water escaping the building. The blockage was cleared the same day, and a full clean-up of the site was completed before the weekend.
The company said the leaked water did not reach West Shore Beach. However, Aberconwy MS Janet Finch-Saunders described the incident as “unacceptable” and called for action.
She also referenced the marine conservation charity Surfers Against Sewage, whose Safer Seas and Rivers Service (SSRS) provides water quality updates for over 600 UK surf and swim spots.
Currently, a pollution alert is in place for West Shore Beach, issued on August 11 at 11.45am. Welsh Water is responsible for the discharge. Records show that “sewage overflow” alerts have been issued for this beach 13 times between July 7 and now.
Ms Finch-Saunders told the Local Democracy Reporting Service: "This is when the residents and visitors want to take a dip in the sea. Surfers Against Sewage are also finding that beaches in North Wales in my constituency have pollution levels that are much too high. It has got to stop.
“It is not acceptable. Our hotels are working flat out to accommodate our visitors. The kids are off school.
“I’ve written to Welsh Water, asking how it happened and when it is going to be fixed, so people can go back in the water. They are going to have to invest some money to stop this happening. We are at our full tilt now in August.”
She added: “The hoteliers are working flat out, and the last thing they need is people complaining they are coming to West Shore, which is a beautiful part of Llandudno, and the area is being blighted by this raw sewage.”
Resident Mike Clair, of Deganwy, saw the sewage seeping from beneath the pumping station last Tuesday.
He said: “I was walking my dog and discovered sewage coming out from under the roller shutter doors.
"This is not the first time. There is evidence of previous sewage release around the building.”
A Welsh Water spokesperson said: “We can confirm there was a blockage at our pumping station in West Shore in Llandudno that resulted in a small amount of foul water seeping from the building. However, it did not enter any watercourse and had no detrimental environmental impact.
“We would like to remind our customers not to dispose of any materials other than toilet roll down the toilet. Nappies, cotton buds and wet wipes block our system. Similarly, pouring fat, oil and grease down sinks can cause blockages.
"The issue of sewer abuse and the resulting flooding costs the company around £5 million a year."
This beach is always having sewage leaks! Is it safe to go in the water?
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