Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment she has made of the quality of bathing water in Fleetwood.

The Environment Agency samples bathing waters, including Fleetwood, 20 times between May and September. Samples are tested for elevated levels of bacteria (E. Coli) which would indicate a presence of organic pollution such as sewage.

Fleetwood wastewater treatment works (WwTW) serves towns on the Fylde Coast, Lancashire, including Fleetwood. On 11 June 2023 there was a failure of a discharge pipe at Fleetwood WwTW that is now restricting the outlet from the WwTW. As a result, sewage is backing up at the WwTW and in the sewerage network.

In response to the reduction in capacity at the WwTW, and some rainfall, untreated sewage overflowed at various points on the network overnight on 12 and 13 June. This included screened sewage onto the beach at Blackpool. There are eight designated bathing waters that could be impacted in the area, including Fleetwood.

The Environment Agency is the regulator of Fleetwood WwTW and is gathering evidence for any potential compliance or enforcement purposes. The Environment Agency continues to maintain an operational presence in the area and is actively involved in multi-agency liaison and response through the Lancashire Resilience Forum.