Praa Sands East water quality
AMBERdesignated bathing water · · South West Water
Praa Sands East is a designated bathing water in Cornwall, currently rated AMBER for swimming — 26 mm rain in 48h (this beach's threshold is 12 mm) — runoff and overflows more likely. Its latest Environment Agency classification is excellent (2025), and 13 storm-overflow spills were recorded nearby in 2025. Below: live risk, recent spills, official samples, rainfall, tides and nearby reports.
Current status
Risk: AMBER 26 mm rain in 48h (this beach's threshold is 12 mm) — runoff and overflows more likely.
- Active overflows nearby: 0
- Recent overflows (48h): 0
- Rainfall (48h): 26.1 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 Praa Sands East
Download CSVEvery storm-overflow discharge Glanmor has recorded within 5 km of Praa Sands East, newest first.
2 discharge events
| Start | End | Outfall | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-03-30 10:43 | 2026-03-30 10:47 | MOUNTS BAY | ~4.8 km |
| 2025-11-12 12:23 | 2025-11-12 12:26 | MOUNTS BAY, ENGLISH CHANNEL | ~4.8 km |
4 precise spill records (duration & volume)
| When | Detail | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| 2026-03-30 10:43 | spill, 4 min | ~4.8 km |
| 2026-03-30 10:43 | spill, 4 min | ~4.8 km |
| 2025-11-12 12:23 | spill, 3 min | ~4.8 km |
| 2025-11-12 12:23 | spill, 3 min | ~4.8 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 |
| 2020 | — | 3 | 10 cfu/100ml | 10 cfu/100ml | 0 |
| 2021 | — | 5 | 12 cfu/100ml | 11 cfu/100ml | 0 |
| 2022 | — | 10 | 11 cfu/100ml | 10 cfu/100ml | 0 |
| 2023 | — | 11 | 11 cfu/100ml | 10 cfu/100ml | 0 |
| 2024 | — | 10 | 10 cfu/100ml | 10 cfu/100ml | 0 |
| 2025 | excellent | 20 | 11 cfu/100ml | 11 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.
Praa Sands East — frequently asked questions
Is it safe to swim at Praa Sands East today?
Praa Sands East is currently rated AMBER: 26 mm rain in 48h (this beach's threshold is 12 mm) — runoff and overflows more likely. This is guidance only — also check official alerts and use your judgement.
Has there been a sewage spill near Praa Sands East?
13 storm-overflow spills were recorded near Praa Sands East in 2025 (EA Event Duration Monitoring), and 1 spill events have been logged nearby so far this year.
What is Praa Sands East's bathing water classification?
Praa Sands East is classified excellent for 2025 by the Environment Agency.
Data & provenance
- Last updated
- 8 min ago (2026-08-27 18:45 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)
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