Loss of European Blue Flag Status for Newport Designated Bathing Water.

Because we failed ‘Guideline Standards’ in bathing water sample tests 3 times out of 20 this season, we have lost the Blue Flag. NAEG will be working with Newport Town Council and Nevern Community Council, other local groups and the local Environment Agency team, Pembrokeshire County Council, Pembrokeshire Coast National Park and Welsh Water to establish how this has happened and how to regain and retain the Flag in future.

A Background Paper prepared by NAEG can be read here.

Environment Agency Wales (EAW) has been obligated to produce a Bathing Water Profile for each European Designated Bathing Water under the Revised Bathing Waters Directive. The Profile for Newport can be found here.

Our submission, made in September 2011, on the Newport Bathing Water Profile is now published on this site, for the benefit of those interested. Click on the following link to view it as a PDF: NAEG Submission.Our comments are made in RED in the attached document.

We have now produced an updated submission in light of (a) recent developments (see @ “Beach Failure in August 2012 will affect us for years to come” – [link] and (b) in light of the continued failure of the Environment Agency (Wales) [now called Natural Resources Wales] to include anything much specific and useful about Newport Beach & potential sources of pollution, in the Newport Beach Bathing Water Profile, rather than the bland, generic, lawyer approved universal agency screed that one finds there at present.