Barry Island's beaches are among the most best visited in Wales and support thriving businesses who feed and entertain thousands of visitors. But in recent years, the authorities have been worried by a trend they cannot explain, there are growing levels of bacteria usually associated with sewage pollution in the water.
Five years ago, Whitmore Bay was the proud holder of the trophy of Europe's cleanest, best-kept beaches, a Blue Flag. Yet it has lost the award as its water quality has fallen from 'Excellent' to 'Good'. More worryingly, the water quality at neighbouring Jackson's Bay has fallen even further to 'Sufficient' and is at risk of falling to the lowest rating of 'Poor'.
Natural Resources Wales is now working with the Vale of Glamorgan Council on a project to collect better data on rainfall, river levels, UV radiance and sampling to understand what it happening at the beaches and to provide information to bathers on the predicted water quality during the summer season from mid May until the end of September. The hope is that it will allow the authorities to predict short-term pollution events that could have an impact on Whitmore Bay and Jackson’s Bay.
