Northumbrian Water has provided an update on the investigation into the bathing water quality at Cullercoats beach, revealing that the contamination stems from multiple sources rather than a single issue. The water company is collaborating with North Tyneside Council and the Environment Agency to identify and fix the source of contaminated groundwater affecting the beach.
Investigation Findings
Detailed survey and excavation work over recent weeks indicates that polluted groundwater has been traveling through the ground and onto the beach and sea via nearby cliffs and caves. The corrective work undertaken has identified contributing factors including damaged pipework, suspected to be caused by previously unknown land drainage systems and misconnected private drains feeding into areas around John Street and Beverley Terrace.
Northumbrian Water has been working to repair and divert wrongly connected customer waste connections to prevent waste from flowing into old land drainage systems connected to the impacted areas. Further work is planned in the coming months, and the Environment Agency will continue regular water monitoring and testing.
Quotes from Officials
Richard Warneford, Wastewater Director at Northumbrian Water, said: "Recent work has found some historic and unrecorded land drains in the areas around John Street and Beverley Terrace. We think there’s a strong possibility that these old systems have caused damage to sewers and allowed water from misconnections and damaged pipes to pass through ground in the area and into the cave and cliff systems and then down to the beach, causing poor bathing water quality."
Sam Dand, Director of Environment at North Tyneside Council, said: "Everyone wants to see excellent bathing water quality at Cullercoats, and we're committed to working with Northumbrian Water and the Environment Agency to understand and tackle what is a complex issue. These investigations are helping to build a much clearer picture of the causes, and it's encouraging that practical improvements have already been made."
Rachael Caldwell, Area Environment Manager for the Environment Agency, added: "Improving water quality takes time and involves everyone including water companies, farmers, transport operators, local councils and communities to play a part and work together. A site’s bathing water quality is impacted by a whole range of factors from mis-connected drainage to agricultural run-off."
Next Steps
The monitoring will continue throughout the 2026 bathing season, and further updates can be found on the Cullercoats bathing water profile. The collaborative effort aims to achieve excellent bathing water quality at the beach.
