Avon Beach: Still Flying the Blue Flag After 138 Sewage Spills in 2024?
- gillhickman2024
- Jun 26
- 2 min read
In June 2025, the i newspaper published a powerful investigation into the state of England’s Blue Flag beaches, warning that many are at risk of losing their prestigious status due to repeated sewage pollution. Among them? Avon Beach in Christchurch, absolutely adjacent to one of our local testing sites.
What We Found: Local E. coli Testing
As described in an earlier blog? New Forest Friends of the Earth recently conducted water quality testing at Chewton Bunny amongst other sites. We measured levels of E. coli, an indicator of faecal contamination, and raised concerns about swimmer safety, especially following periods of rain when combined sewer overflows (CSOs) are most active. The stream at Chewton Bunny which is less than a mile from Avon Beach, when tested for E. coli gave a CFU measurement for E coli that was was 2 1/2 times higher than that allowed for good bathing water quality.
Confirmed: 138 Sewage Discharges in 2024
Our findings about this piece of coastline were recently confirmed in a story published by the Advertiser and Times on 27 May 2025, stating:
“Last year Avon Beach and Friars Cliff were polluted 138 times in 2024, according to water company data.”
– Advertiser & Times
This figure reflects discharges from multiple overflow points around the beach and nearby Friars Cliff, totalling over 1,100 hours of raw sewage released into coastal waters.
🏴 Blue Flag… Still Flying?
Despite these figures, Avon Beach continues to fly the internationally recognised Blue Flag, which designates beaches with “excellent” water quality. But this label rings hollow when independent testing detects faecal contamination, and raw sewage is being discharged upstream. This isn’t just a discrepancy; it’s a serious disconnect between official assurances and on-the-ground reality.
We believe the public deserves greater transparency and accountability especially when Combined Sewer Overflows are allowed to discharge so close to designated bathing areas. A beach might qualify for Blue Flag status during routine testing, but that doesn’t mean the water is consistently safe, especially when raw sewage is discharged nearby in the days that follow.
What Needs to Change?
• Stricter controls on storm overflow use
• Improved transparency of discharge alerts
• Greater investment in sewer infrastructure
• Public testing and perhaps citizen science inclusion in policy-making.
How about flying a brown flag when there's been a sewage spill?
There should be signposting to a website where the public can obtain up-to-date information about water quality on a specific beach (such as Avon Beach or Friars Cliff)
We’ll keep monitoring, sharing data, and pushing for real change. If you swam here, surfed here, or just love this beach, so please share this post, write to your MP, and stay involved.
Comments