Church Cove water quality
AMBERdesignated bathing water · · South West Water
Church Cove is a designated bathing water in Cornwall, currently rated AMBER for swimming — A storm overflow discharged within 5 km in the last 48 hours. Incoming/high tide may carry discharge closer to shore. Its latest Environment Agency classification is excellent (2025), and 10 storm-overflow spills were recorded nearby in 2025. Below: live risk, recent spills, official samples, rainfall, tides and nearby reports.
Current status
Risk: AMBER A storm overflow discharged within 5 km in the last 48 hours. Incoming/high tide may carry discharge closer to shore.
- Active overflows nearby: 0
- Recent overflows (48h): 2
- Rainfall (48h): 32.1 mm
Official EA classification
excellent (2025)
Latest official sample
2026-09-15 — E.coli 10, enterococci 10 cfu/100ml
Latest independent sample
None published
Pollution & environment data
Recent storm overflows nearby (30 days)
- 2026-10-24 10:52 · ended~1.5 km
- 2026-10-24 11:15 · ended~1.5 km
In the news nearby
No recent local news matched.
Storm-overflow spills near here, by year (EDM)
Recent spills near here (precise, SWW)
- spill, 126 min2026-10-24 · ~1.5 km
Full spill history near Church Cove
Download CSVEvery storm-overflow discharge Glanmor has recorded within 5 km of Church Cove, newest first.
4 discharge events
| Start | End | Outfall | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-10-24 11:15 | 2026-10-24 13:30 | POLURRIAN COVE (C) | ~1.5 km |
| 2026-10-24 10:52 | 2026-10-24 13:16 | POLURRIAN COVE (C) | ~1.5 km |
| 2026-06-16 09:31 | 2026-06-16 09:32 | ENGLISH CHANNEL (COASTAL) | ~1.5 km |
| 2026-03-18 09:55 | 2026-03-18 09:59 | POLURRIAN COVE (C) | ~1.5 km |
5 precise spill records (duration & volume)
| When | Detail | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| 2026-10-24 10:52 | spill, 126 min | ~1.5 km |
| 2026-06-16 09:31 | spill, 1 min | ~1.5 km |
| 2026-06-16 09:31 | spill, 1 min | ~1.5 km |
| 2026-03-18 09:55 | spill, 5 min | ~1.5 km |
| 2026-03-18 09:55 | spill, 5 min | ~1.5 km |
Water quality — 7-year trend
Water quality worsened in 2026: average E. coli was 27% higher than 2025.
| Year | EA classification | Samples | E. coli (geo-mean) | Enterococci (geo-mean) | High readings |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | — | 3 | 10 cfu/100ml | 10 cfu/100ml | 0 |
| 2020 | — | 3 | 10 cfu/100ml | 10 cfu/100ml | 0 |
| 2021 | — | 5 | 10 cfu/100ml | 10 cfu/100ml | 0 |
| 2022 | — | 10 | 10 cfu/100ml | 10 cfu/100ml | 0 |
| 2023 | — | 12 | 13 cfu/100ml | 14 cfu/100ml | 1 of 12 |
| 2024 | — | 10 | 10 cfu/100ml | 10 cfu/100ml | 0 |
| 2025 | excellent | 21 | 10 cfu/100ml | 10 cfu/100ml | 0 |
| 2026 | — | 10 | 13 cfu/100ml | 11 cfu/100ml | 0 |
Geometric mean of Environment Agency samples per calendar year (the standard bathing-water statistic). "High readings" are samples at or above 500 E. coli or 200 enterococci cfu/100ml.
Church Cove — frequently asked questions
Is it safe to swim at Church Cove today?
Church Cove is currently rated AMBER: A storm overflow discharged within 5 km in the last 48 hours. Incoming/high tide may carry discharge closer to shore. This is guidance only — also check official alerts and use your judgement.
Has there been a sewage spill near Church Cove?
10 storm-overflow spills were recorded near Church Cove in 2025 (EA Event Duration Monitoring), and 4 spill events have been logged nearby so far this year.
What is Church Cove's bathing water classification?
Church Cove is classified excellent for 2025 by the Environment Agency.
Data & provenance
- Last updated
- 9 min ago (2026-10-24 15:00 UTC)
- Sources
- Environment Agency (samples & classification), South West Water (overflows), EA EDM (annual spills), Open-Meteo (rainfall & tide). Full list on about.
- Confidence
- High — official classification, 2 outfalls monitored within 5 km.
- Risk model
- v0.4
- Download
- Sample timeline (JSON) · All beaches (CSV)
🔗 Embed this beach status on your site
Surf clubs, hotels and councils — paste this into your page to show a live Church Cove status card: