Eventually, after all its treatments, the water ends up in our sea and by our
beaches. Blackpool has four award winning beaches and all of them passed
last year’s standard for bathing water quality. In 2015, the standard is
getting tougher again though, and work with the Turning tides partnership
is hoping to improve our quality even more to hit the new standard.
The LOVEmyBEACH campaign promotes our beaches across the Fylde and
the work that is being done to keep the seawater there clean. Find out how
you could help our water quality by visiting www.lovemybeach.org
Water, water
Sea defences
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As well as water going out, we’re managing water coming in. Flooding can ruin
lives and coastal protection schemes across the Fylde coast should give us more
protection against it. On top of the central Blackpool seawall, a new £86m sea
defence construction will protect around 12,000 properties in Anchorsholme and
Rossall. Visit the site offices or www.fyldecoastalprogramme.co.uk to find out
more about the schemes.
Beach clean
Could you help keep our
beaches clean? Come
along to our regular
beach cleans all across
the Fylde coast. To find
a calendar of upcoming
beach cleans, visit
www.lovemybeach.org
Rigs
Anchorsholme Park
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United Utilities is currently carrying
out some surveys on the sea water
and the sea bed. Their rig can be seen
off the coast at Anchorsholme and
Harrowside over the next few weeks.
The work will help them plan their
improvements to the sewer systems.
Blackpool Council is a lead local flood authority
and delivers statutory duties in terms of flood
risk management. That includes investigating
any flooding or flood risk. We are also in charge
of making sure new developments include
sustainable urban drainage systems (SUDS). To
read our flood risk management strategy,
search for flood on blackpool.gov.uk.
Work will begin soon on the pumping station
underneath Anchorsholme park. This work will
help improve the quality of our bathing water for
everybody to enjoy. For this work, parts of the park
will have to close for the next few years, but it will
have a big impact on the quality of the sea water off
Blackpool’s coast.
To find out more about the project, visit
www.unitedutilities.com
The Fylde peninsula water management partnership, is working
together to make sure that water across the Fylde coast is dealt with
so that it doesn’t cause a problem with flooding or pollution. Here’s
the work we’re doing through all parts of the water cycle.
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United Utilities
To make sure the water that goes into the sea is
clean, United Utilities are investing millions of
pounds in treatment plants to make sure that
water is clean of bacteria when it re-enters the
sea. A huge water tunnel in Preston and UV
treatment in Blackburn will help to clean up the
water.
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Rain
All over the county, heavy rain can have a big
impact on our local bathing water quality, washing
pollution off the land, into the rivers and towards
the sea. If it’s been raining for a while, you might
see a sign on the beach, saying that swimming
isn’t advised until the pollution has disappeared.
This normally takes around 72 hours to clear.
To collect rain water, you can buy a water butt by
visiting www.blackpool.getcomposting.com
Farms
Drains
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Water plays a huge part in our everyday lives, from having
a shower and washing the pots to Blackpool’s seaside
economy that helps bring in the tourists. The water cycle
is all connected, from the rain that falls inland reaching to
the sea water that people paddle and swim in.
All that rain can wash off muck from farmland
into the rivers. We’re working with local farming
unions to reduce the amount of animal muck
that can get washed away by advertising funding
available for them to clean up their act.
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It’s always important to make
sure that the right things are
going down the drains. Only put
the three P’s down the toilet:
pee, poo and paper.
As for your drains, try not to
pour fats and oils down your
sink. Leave them to cool and
then throw them in the bin,
otherwise the fats can clog
them up.
You can make a fat trap at home
for free or buy one for a couple
of pounds.
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Housing developments/
Misconnections
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New housing developments like the one at
Rigby Road are being designed with water
management in mind, so that they can drain
properly and not cause localised flooding.
We’re also helping households to make sure
that older properties are connected to the right
drains, so that dirty water from toilets and
showers doesn’t end up going into the sea. To
check your property, visit: www.connectright.org
Schools
Where’s the best place to teach people about
water? At school, obviously. We’re talking to
schools across the Fylde coast to get them to
understand the simple things that school
children and their families can do which
have a big impact on our water quality.
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We can also offer curriculum based workshops.
To find out about them, and our Coast Council,
contact [email protected].”
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Beaches
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