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Investment in infrastructure to improve environmental quality lies principally with those whose activities could potentially cause environmental damage, such as industry which discharges into the marine environment. Whilst is it unlikely that individual operations could cause significant impacts, cumulative impacts can be locally significant. Regulation of environmental quality lies within the public sector, with much responsibility in the hands of the Environment Agency.
The trend in environmental quality over the last century has been for a long term decline due to urbanisation and a lack of inadequate investment in waste management. However, more recently there has been improvements in environmental quality due to the implementation of environmental legislation and considerable investment by the industry. The trend will be for a continued decrease in the amount of pollution discharged to the marine environment, particularly through the implementation of the EC Water Framework Directive (WFD) and the revised Bathing Water Directive which will see action being taken at all levels to improve the chemical and biological quality of our waters.
By far the greatest volume of waste discharged to the marine environment is sewage. Without treatment, crude sewage flows into natural waters and causes pollution. Sewage effluent contains industrial waste, rainwater and water from domestic baths and washing machines, fats, faecal matter and anything washed down drains or flushed down the toilet. Untreated sewage contains bathroom waste such as condoms, cotton bud sticks and sanitary products. There are a number of bacteria and viruses that are found in raw sewage. Numerous studies have indicated that the greater the sewage contamination and exposure of people, the higher the risk of contracting ear, nose and throat infections and stomach upsets such as gastroenteritis. Other disease-causing agents that may be present in sewage include enteric viruses, salmonella and the Hepatitis A virus.
There are 20 designated EU bathing sites in the Solent area. The water at these sites is tested regularly for its quality throughout the bathing period (May-September inclusive) by the Environment Agency. They are tested against criteria laid down in the EU Bathing Water Directive for bacteria that can cause ear infections, stomach upsets etc. There are two main sets of standards for measuring bathing water quality: the minimum standard and the stricter guideline standard. All bathing waters must meet the minimum standard. The results are displayed at local beaches and can be found on the EA website.
Bathing water quality is considered either:
The Bathing Water Directive has recently been revised and new standards will be introduced by 2015. To learn more about the revision go to Defra's webpage.
Solent Water Quality Awards
Those beaches that have good or excellent bathing water quality are presented with an annual Solent Water Quality Award Often the Award plaque is displayed alongside the results board and an Award Flag is flown showing where you can find them.
Blue Flag Beaches
Blue Flag Beaches offer you the most facilities including onsite wardens and lifeguards. They will also be European bathing beaches so you will be able to find out about the quality of the water. The Solent and Isle of Wight boast seven Blue Flag Beaches: West Wittering in West Sussex; Sandown, Ryde, Shanklin, Ventnor on the Isle of Wight and; West Hayling and Beachlands on Hayling Island, in Hampshire.
Good water quality in areas where shellfish live is essential to prevent contamination of shellfish because molluscs e.g. oysters, will concentrate contaminants from polluted waters. This is because they are filter feeders. They draw water across their sieve-like gills, where contaminants like micro-organisms, heavy metals and organic material can accumulate.
Sewage contamination appears to be the most significant cause of shellfish-associated illness. In temperate developed countries viral gastro-intestinal illness is most common.
There are densely populated areas around the Solent. A large proportion of the sewage generated in these areas has historically been discharged directly into the Solent often, until quite recently, with minimal treatment.
Discharge improvements in the Solent have had a significant beneficial effect on microbiological quality of the shellfishery. Contamination levels reduced by factor of 10 or more at some sites - classifications improved from prohibited to class B (and A) in some cases. Intermittent discharges into some parts of the Solent will continue to have an impact from time to time.
No shellfish waters-targeted discharge improvement schemes for the Solent in the investment programme (2005-2010). However, benefits of improvements to be delivered under AMP3 and schemes under AMP4 with other drivers e.g. Urban Waste Water Treatment and Habitats Directives should deliver a continued trend of improvement for shellfish waters in the Solent.
It's important that we monitor the quality of shellfish waters to prevent them becoming contaminated as this could affect people who eat shellfish if water quality is poor. The Environment Agency monitors the levels of these substances in shellfish waters to make sure they meet the standards set by the Directive.
Whilst CEFAS monitors the quality of the shellfish themselves, hygiene controls are put in place through monitoring the quality of the harvesting areas, commercial processing and end-product. Depending on the CEFAS classification, shellfish may require treatment before being sold.