Swimming ban lifted at seven Fylde coast beaches following sewage leak near Blackpool

A ban on accessing the waters off Blackpool, Fylde and Wyre has been lifted by the Environment Agency – 17 days after sewage washed into the sea following heavy rains.

This was caused by a burst pipe which became overwhelmed as 1.7 inches (44mm) of rain fell in two hours during a severe thunderstorm on June 13.

The public were subsequently urged not to swim at Bispham, Blackpool Central, Blackpool North, Blackpool South, Cleveleys beach, Fleetwood, St Annes, St Annes North.

But, following stringent tests by the Environment Agency after a round-the-clock repair programme on the pipework by UU, the ban was lifted at seven beaches on Thursday (June 29).

The advice not to swim remained in place at Blackpool North.

A spokesman for the Environment Agency said: “After evidence gathering as part of our ongoing investigation, restrictions on bathing in waters along the Fylde coast can now be lifted.

“We advise bathers to check Swimfo so they can continue to make informed decisions about entering the water, including when and where to swim.

“We are clear that polluting our seas and rivers is unacceptable.

“We are pressing on with our robust investigation to establish what happened and will decide on next steps when it concludes.”

United Utilities said over 2,000 metres of bypass pipework had been installed at the Fleetwood plant, which is now operating at near normal capacity.

UU said that storage levels have returned to normal in the Fylde Coast drainage system and that recent rainfall has not overwhelmed the system, adding that the last time any storm water was released into the sea was on Tuesday, June 20.

Work to dig down and repair the nine metre-deep fractured pipe is continuing at the site but is not expected to have any further impact on local bathing waters.

Mark Garth, UU’s Wastewater Services Director, said: “We have not spared any cost or resources in our response to what has been a hugely challenging incident.

“We are very sorry for the inconvenience this has caused for residents, visitors and businesses along the Fylde Coast and I want to thank everyone for their patience while the situation was resolved.

“A reduced number of tankers will continue to support our operations in some areas and I want to thank local residents for their ongoing patience.”

He added: “We know people will have many questions about what happened, how we responded and what our longer term plans are to protect the environment.

“We are holding a series of drop-in sessions next week and we will provide further details about these when they are confirmed.”

Blackpool Council said they were “delighted” the restrictions had been lifted and thanked residents for their patience.

Coun Tommy Threlfall, Fylde Council’s lead member for Environment, said: “We would like to express our gratitude to everyone involved for their dedicated efforts in restoring the water quality to its normal state.

“We will continue to monitor the water sampling results.

“We have a dedicated resource in place at Fylde Council, working with the Environment Agency, to continuously improve the bathing water quality for our residents and visitors.”