Harlyn Bay water quality

RED

designated bathing water · · South West Water

Harlyn Bay is a designated bathing water in Cornwall, currently rated RED for swimming — Storm overflow discharging within 5 km right now. Incoming/high tide may carry discharge closer to shore. Its latest Environment Agency classification is excellent (2025), and 309 storm-overflow spills were recorded nearby in 2025. Below: live risk, recent spills, official samples, rainfall, tides and nearby reports.

Safe to swim right now?
Avoid — pollution risk
Storm overflow discharging within 5 km right now. Incoming/high tide may carry discharge closer to shore.
South West Water status: Amber · since 2026-10-24 11:38
Do not rely solely on this website for health decisions. Check official alerts and use your own judgement. Seek medical advice if you are unwell.

Current status

Risk: RED Storm overflow discharging within 5 km right now. Incoming/high tide may carry discharge closer to shore.

  • Active overflows nearby: 2
  • Recent overflows (48h): 10
  • Rainfall (48h): 35.1 mm

Official EA classification

excellent (2025)

Latest official sample

2026-09-25 — E.coli 10, enterococci 10 cfu/100ml

Latest independent sample

None published

Pollution & environment data

35.1 mm
Rainfall 48h
70.2 mm
Rainfall 7d
6
Outfalls within 5 km
309
Spills (2025, official)
31
Spills 2026 so far (live)
18
Spills last 30d
high 2.79m
Tide now

Recent storm overflows nearby (30 days)

In the news nearby

No recent local news matched.

Storm-overflow spills near here, by year (EDM)

Recent spills near here (precise, SWW)

Full spill history near Harlyn Bay

Download CSV

Every storm-overflow discharge Glanmor has recorded within 5 km of Harlyn Bay, newest first.

31 discharge events
StartEndOutfallDistance
2026-10-24 14:002026-10-24 15:00RIVER CAMEL ESTUARY (E)~4.5 km
2026-10-24 11:46ongoingMOTHER IVEYS BAY (C)~1.1 km
2026-10-24 11:18ongoingMOTHER IVEYS BAY (C)~1.1 km
2026-10-23 19:312026-10-23 19:46MOTHER IVEYS BAY (C)~1.1 km
2026-10-23 19:112026-10-23 19:34MOTHER IVEYS BAY (C)~1.1 km
2026-10-23 05:452026-10-23 12:31MOTHER IVEYS BAY (C)~1.1 km
2026-10-23 05:242026-10-23 12:16MOTHER IVEYS BAY (C)~1.1 km
2026-10-23 00:152026-10-23 01:15MOTHER IVEYS BAY (C)~1.1 km
2026-10-22 23:582026-10-23 00:52MOTHER IVEYS BAY (C)~1.1 km
2026-10-22 21:012026-10-22 21:16MOTHER IVEYS BAY (C)~1.1 km
2026-10-22 20:342026-10-22 21:03MOTHER IVEYS BAY (C)~1.1 km
2026-10-22 20:182026-10-22 20:25CAMEL ESTUARY (E)~4.6 km
2026-10-21 22:302026-10-21 22:45MOTHER IVEYS BAY (C)~1.1 km
2026-10-21 22:042026-10-21 22:28MOTHER IVEYS BAY (C)~1.1 km
2026-10-21 21:452026-10-21 22:15CAMEL ESTUARY (E)~4.6 km
2026-10-21 21:362026-10-21 21:43CAMEL ESTUARY (E)~4.6 km
2026-10-15 21:302026-10-15 21:45MOTHER IVEYS BAY (C)~1.1 km
2026-10-15 20:562026-10-15 21:32MOTHER IVEYS BAY (C)~1.1 km
2026-09-08 06:182026-09-08 07:41RIVER CAMEL ESTUARY (E)~4.5 km
2026-09-08 06:042026-09-08 06:11CAMEL ESTUARY (E)~4.6 km
2026-09-08 05:492026-09-08 10:59MOTHER IVEYS BAY (C)~1.1 km
2026-08-27 03:372026-08-27 04:00MOTHER IVEYS BAY (C)~1.1 km
2026-07-18 15:442026-07-18 15:47RIVER CAMEL ESTUARY (E)~4.5 km
2026-07-18 14:452026-07-18 17:15RIVER CAMEL ESTUARY (E)~4.5 km
2026-07-01 09:002026-07-01 09:08TREVONE BAY~1.1 km
2026-06-25 09:482026-06-25 09:50CAMEL ESTUARY (E)~4.3 km
2026-06-25 09:092026-06-25 09:11CAMEL ESTUARY (E)~4.6 km
2026-06-18 09:032026-06-18 09:08RIVER CAMEL ESTUARY (E)~4.5 km
2026-06-18 08:452026-06-18 08:47TREYARNON STREAM~2.2 km
2026-06-17 07:262026-06-17 07:43MOTHER IVEYS BAY (C)~1.1 km
2026-03-02 14:432026-03-03 01:13TREVONE BAY~1.1 km
32 precise spill records (duration & volume)
WhenDetailDistance
2026-10-24 13:13spill, 77 min~4.5 km
2026-10-24 11:18spill, 192 min~1.1 km
2026-10-23 19:11spill, 23 min~1.1 km
2026-10-23 05:24spill, 400 min~1.1 km
2026-10-22 23:58spill, 53 min~1.1 km
2026-10-22 20:34spill, 29 min~1.1 km
2026-10-22 20:18spill, 7 min~4.6 km
2026-10-21 22:04spill, 23 min~1.1 km
2026-10-21 21:36spill, 8 min~4.6 km
2026-10-15 20:56spill, 36 min~1.1 km
2026-09-08 06:18spill, 83 min~4.5 km
2026-09-08 06:04spill, 7 min~4.6 km
2026-09-08 05:49spill, 310 min~1.1 km
2026-08-27 03:37spill, 23 min~1.1 km
2026-07-18 15:44spill, 2 min~4.5 km
2026-07-18 14:43spill, 0 min~4.5 km
2026-07-18 14:36spill, 0 min~4.5 km
2026-07-01 09:00spill, 9 min~1.1 km
2026-06-25 09:48spill, 2 min~4.3 km
2026-06-25 09:48spill, 2 min~4.3 km
2026-06-25 09:09spill, 2 min~4.6 km
2026-06-25 09:09spill, 2 min~4.6 km
2026-06-18 09:03spill, 5 min~4.5 km
2026-06-18 09:03spill, 5 min~4.5 km
2026-06-18 08:45spill, 2 min~2.2 km
2026-06-18 08:45spill, 2 min~2.2 km
2026-06-17 07:26spill, 17 min~1.1 km
2026-06-17 07:26spill, 17 min~1.1 km
2026-03-03 12:25spill, 10 min~0.2 km
2026-03-03 12:25spill, 10 min~0.2 km
2026-03-02 14:43spill, 630 min~1.1 km
2026-03-02 14:43spill, 630 min~1.1 km
Take action — email SWW / your MPGot ill here? Build a reportReport pollution

Water quality — 7-year trend

Water quality in 2026 was broadly level with 2025.

YearEA classificationSamplesE. coli (geo-mean)Enterococci (geo-mean)High readings
2019—1214 cfu/100ml13 cfu/100ml0
2020—310 cfu/100ml10 cfu/100ml0
2021—2015 cfu/100ml14 cfu/100ml0
2022—2012 cfu/100ml15 cfu/100ml0
2023—2113 cfu/100ml15 cfu/100ml0
2024—1513 cfu/100ml12 cfu/100ml0
2025excellent2012 cfu/100ml14 cfu/100ml0
2026—2011 cfu/100ml12 cfu/100ml0

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.

Harlyn Bay — frequently asked questions

Is it safe to swim at Harlyn Bay today?

Harlyn Bay is currently rated RED: Storm overflow discharging within 5 km right now. 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 Harlyn Bay?

309 storm-overflow spills were recorded near Harlyn Bay in 2025 (EA Event Duration Monitoring), and 31 spill events have been logged nearby so far this year.

What is Harlyn Bay's bathing water classification?

Harlyn Bay is classified excellent for 2025 by the Environment Agency.

Data & provenance

Last updated
8 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, 6 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 Harlyn Bay status card: