Porthcurno water quality
GREENdesignated bathing water · · South West Water
Porthcurno is a designated bathing water in Cornwall, currently rated GREEN for swimming — No recent overflow, no pollution warning, low rainfall, no high samples. Its latest Environment Agency classification is excellent (2025), and 60 storm-overflow spills were recorded nearby in 2025. Below: live risk, recent spills, official samples, rainfall, tides and nearby reports.
Current status
Risk: GREEN No recent overflow, no pollution warning, low rainfall, no high samples.
- Active overflows nearby: 0
- Recent overflows (48h): 0
- Rainfall (48h): 2.6 mm
Official EA classification
excellent (2025)
Latest official sample
2026-08-18 — E.coli 10, enterococci 10 cfu/100ml
Latest independent sample
None published
Pollution & environment data
Recent storm overflows nearby (30 days)
No spills recorded within 5 km in the last 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)
No precise spill events recorded near here recently.
Full spill history near Porthcurno
Download CSVEvery storm-overflow discharge Glanmor has recorded within 5 km of Porthcurno, newest first.
2 discharge events
| Start | End | Outfall | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-05-19 00:43 | 2026-05-19 01:02 | TREVEDRAN STREAM | ~3.6 km |
| 2026-05-11 10:16 | 2026-05-11 10:17 | ATLANTIC OCEAN, OFF PORTHCURNO | ~0.2 km |
4 precise spill records (duration & volume)
| When | Detail | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| 2026-05-19 00:43 | spill, 19 min | ~3.6 km |
| 2026-05-19 00:43 | spill, 19 min | ~3.6 km |
| 2026-05-11 10:16 | spill, 2 min | ~0.2 km |
| 2026-05-11 10:16 | spill, 2 min | ~0.2 km |
Water quality — 7-year trend
Water quality in 2026 was broadly level with 2025.
| Year | EA classification | Samples | E. coli (geo-mean) | Enterococci (geo-mean) | High readings |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | — | 3 | 10 cfu/100ml | 10 cfu/100ml | 0 |
| 2021 | — | 5 | 11 cfu/100ml | 10 cfu/100ml | 0 |
| 2022 | — | 10 | 10 cfu/100ml | 10 cfu/100ml | 0 |
| 2023 | — | 10 | 10 cfu/100ml | 10 cfu/100ml | 0 |
| 2024 | — | 10 | 11 cfu/100ml | 10 cfu/100ml | 0 |
| 2025 | excellent | 20 | 10 cfu/100ml | 10 cfu/100ml | 0 |
| 2026 | — | 11 | 10 cfu/100ml | 10 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.
Porthcurno — frequently asked questions
Is it safe to swim at Porthcurno today?
Porthcurno is currently rated GREEN: No recent overflow, no pollution warning, low rainfall, no high samples. This is guidance only — also check official alerts and use your judgement.
Has there been a sewage spill near Porthcurno?
60 storm-overflow spills were recorded near Porthcurno in 2025 (EA Event Duration Monitoring), and 2 spill events have been logged nearby so far this year.
What is Porthcurno's bathing water classification?
Porthcurno is classified excellent for 2025 by the Environment Agency.
Data & provenance
- Last updated
- 37 min ago (2026-08-26 15:15 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 Porthcurno status card: