A POLITICIAN said it is "imperative" that Natural Resources Wales (NRW) and Denbighshire County Council turn things around after Rhyl Marine Lake failed to meet the grade when tested for bacterial water pollution.

The Rhyl artificial lake, mainly used for water sports, was classified as ‘poor’ in the latest Bathing Water Regulations 2022. It is the only bathing water across Wales to fail the sufficient standard in 2022.

It the past [2019, 2020 and 2021] the lake has been rated as "sufficient". 

Gareth Davies, MS for Vale of Clwyd, said: "I'm very disappointed to see the Marine Lake water quality being rated as poor by Natural Resources Wales, particularly when water quality in neighbouring areas such as Prestatyn are rated as 'excellent'. This is disappointing for Rhyl as it attracts many visitors, dog walkers and people wanting to use the facilities, particularly during the summer.

"It's now imperative that Natural Resources Wales and Denbighshire County Council work together urgently to get the new sluice gate installed and turn the fortunes of the lake around so that it can be enjoyed and used for many years to come."

Dr James Davies, MP for Vale of Clwyd, also voiced his disappointment.

"I am concerned to hear that Rhyl’s Marine Lake has dropped to poor status for the first time, and that it is the only site in Wales to receive this classification," he said. 

"The lake is a popular attraction in Rhyl, frequented by locals and visitors, and it is therefore vital that the standard is improved."

Denbighshire County Council are "committed" to working with NRW to improve the quality of the waters within Marine Lake "as quickly as possible".

A joint statement, on behalf of Denbighshire County Council and Welsh Water, said: “Welsh Water does have a Combine Storm Overflow (CSO) nearby which it is important to point out has only operated four times during a bathing season in the past decade. Two of these occasions occurred within the four year assessment period in question and can be linked to the more intense rainfall events we now see as a result of climate change.

“CSOs are essential to prevent homes and businesses from experiencing internal flooding from the wastewater network during heavy rain and 95 percent of what is released from them is surface water.  Even though the CSOs are fully compliant with their operating permit, Welsh Water has already offered a solution to immediately notify Denbighshire Council if the CSO is operating so that the Council can close the sluice gates and divert water from the Clwyd Estuary away from the lake.

“Denbighshire County Council also has other steps in place to make the necessary improvements.

"The council is investigating how much it will cost to renew the existing sluice gate. The current one is very old and difficult to operate. A new one would limit the amount of abstractions from the Clwyd Estuary therefore preventing the possibility of bacteria entering the lake. “

Bathing waters are assessed yearly and based over a four-year period to help provide a better assessment of water quality. There are four classifications: excellent, good, sufficient and poor. When the samples NRW officers take fail to meet a certain threshold, the bathing water is said to have failed the criteria outlined in the Bathing Waters Regulations and is then classified as ‘poor’.

‘Poor’ results happen because of increased bacteria in sample results.

There are currently three high results in the dataset for Marine Lake.

Lyndsey Rawlinson, NRW Head of Operations for North East Wales, said: “Making sure that Wales’ bathing waters are safe and clean for people and wildlife is a huge part of our job.

“For the last four years we have achieved 100 per cent compliance with the strict standards set out in the Bathing Water Regulations and this result for Marine Lake is hugely disappointing.  

“In this case, we are working closely with Denbighshire County Council and Dŵr Cymru Welsh Water to address the issues in Marine Lake. There will be restrictions on abstractions into the lake following a discharge from the pumping station, and confirmation has been received that the lake will not be drained and refilled during the bathing season unless there are exceptional circumstances.

“Further work is already underway in the Clwyd catchment as a wider project to reduce bacteria levels at all bathing waters in Denbighshire.”

Welsh Water is investing £1.4 million on improving their wastewater pumping station at Marine Lake. As part of this work, they are replacing three screens and the penstock to their storm tank. The new screens will help remove more rags, objects and debris form the wastewater network and will help increase capacity in the storm tank.

During bad weather, they will be able to hold more flows in the tank so that it doesn’t overwhelm the network.

This will help minimise the need to discharge water into the Clwyd Estuary during bad weather and help them treat the water better.

Dr Davies added: “I very much welcome these efforts and will be keeping a close eye on progress. Given that the lake is used for many water sports and by children crabbing, particularly in the summer months, the target time they have set for improving the standard really needs to be achieved.”