Praa Sands West water quality
AMBERdesignated bathing water · · South West Water
Praa Sands West is a designated bathing water in Cornwall, currently rated AMBER for swimming — A storm overflow discharged within 5 km in the last 48 hours. Falling tide may draw discharge along the shore. Its latest Environment Agency classification is excellent (2025), and 54 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. Falling tide may draw discharge along the shore.
- Active overflows nearby: 0
- Recent overflows (48h): 4
- Rainfall (48h): 33.5 mm
Official EA classification
excellent (2025)
Latest official sample
2026-09-18 — E.coli 10, enterococci 10 cfu/100ml
Latest independent sample
None published
Pollution & environment data
Recent storm overflows nearby (30 days)
- 2026-10-21 21:55 · ended~4.2 km
- 2026-10-22 19:33 · ended~4.2 km
- 2026-10-23 03:52 · ended~4.2 km
- 2026-10-24 09:30 · ended~4.2 km
- 2026-10-24 10:04 · ended~4.2 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, 189 min2026-10-24 · ~4.2 km
- spill, 38 min2026-10-24 · ~4.2 km
- spill, 10 min2026-10-23 · ~4.2 km
- spill, 11 min2026-10-22 · ~4.2 km
- spill, 10 min2026-10-21 · ~4.2 km
- spill, 192 min2026-09-08 · ~4.2 km
- spill, 35 min2026-08-29 · ~4.2 km
Full spill history near Praa Sands West
Download CSVEvery storm-overflow discharge Glanmor has recorded within 5 km of Praa Sands West, newest first.
10 discharge events
| Start | End | Outfall | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-10-24 10:04 | 2026-10-24 13:46 | (C) MOUNTS BAY | ~4.2 km |
| 2026-10-24 09:30 | 2026-10-24 13:30 | (C) MOUNTS BAY | ~4.2 km |
| 2026-10-23 03:52 | 2026-10-23 04:03 | (C) MOUNTS BAY | ~4.2 km |
| 2026-10-22 19:33 | 2026-10-22 19:44 | (C) MOUNTS BAY | ~4.2 km |
| 2026-10-21 21:55 | 2026-10-21 22:05 | (C) MOUNTS BAY | ~4.2 km |
| 2026-09-08 03:14 | 2026-09-08 06:26 | (C) MOUNTS BAY | ~4.2 km |
| 2026-08-29 08:48 | 2026-08-29 09:23 | (C) MOUNTS BAY | ~4.2 km |
| 2026-08-29 02:45 | 2026-08-29 04:30 | (C) MOUNTS BAY | ~4.2 km |
| 2026-06-08 04:23 | 2026-06-08 04:43 | (C) MOUNTS BAY | ~4.2 km |
| 2026-01-29 17:00 | 2026-01-29 17:19 | STREAM (S) | ~4.4 km |
11 precise spill records (duration & volume)
| When | Detail | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| 2026-10-24 10:04 | spill, 189 min | ~4.2 km |
| 2026-10-24 09:06 | spill, 38 min | ~4.2 km |
| 2026-10-23 03:52 | spill, 10 min | ~4.2 km |
| 2026-10-22 19:33 | spill, 11 min | ~4.2 km |
| 2026-10-21 21:55 | spill, 10 min | ~4.2 km |
| 2026-09-08 03:14 | spill, 192 min | ~4.2 km |
| 2026-08-29 08:48 | spill, 35 min | ~4.2 km |
| 2026-06-08 04:23 | spill, 20 min | ~4.2 km |
| 2026-06-08 04:23 | spill, 20 min | ~4.2 km |
| 2026-01-29 17:00 | spill, 20 min | ~4.4 km |
| 2026-01-29 17:00 | spill, 20 min | ~4.4 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 | — | 2 | 10 cfu/100ml | 10 cfu/100ml | 0 |
| 2021 | — | 5 | 10 cfu/100ml | 17 cfu/100ml | 0 |
| 2022 | — | 10 | 10 cfu/100ml | 12 cfu/100ml | 0 |
| 2023 | — | 11 | 11 cfu/100ml | 12 cfu/100ml | 0 |
| 2024 | — | 10 | 12 cfu/100ml | 13 cfu/100ml | 0 |
| 2025 | excellent | 20 | 11 cfu/100ml | 10 cfu/100ml | 0 |
| 2026 | — | 10 | 10 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.
Praa Sands West — frequently asked questions
Is it safe to swim at Praa Sands West today?
Praa Sands West is currently rated AMBER: A storm overflow discharged within 5 km in the last 48 hours. Falling tide may draw discharge along the shore. This is guidance only — also check official alerts and use your judgement.
Has there been a sewage spill near Praa Sands West?
54 storm-overflow spills were recorded near Praa Sands West in 2025 (EA Event Duration Monitoring), and 10 spill events have been logged nearby so far this year.
What is Praa Sands West's bathing water classification?
Praa Sands West is classified excellent for 2025 by the Environment Agency.
Data & provenance
- Last updated
- 2 min ago (2026-10-24 16:00 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)
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