Water sampling

Since 2021, we have been testing the water AT CONHAM for CONCENTRATIONS OF bacteria and harmful pollutants

We have received support from Surfers Against Sewage to conduct weekly sampling from May 2025-May 2026. The charts below show the latest results for concentrations of E.coli and Intestinal Enterococci in water samples collected at Conham (both of which are measured in Colony Forming Units, or CFU, per 100ml).

Current classification (based on previous 20 sample results)*

E.coli: POOR

Intestinal Enterococci: POOR

(NB This lab only records results up to 1000 CFU/100ml. Any result exceeding this is presented as >1000)

2025-26 sampling programme

Understanding the results

The Environment Agency classifies bathing water quality as Poor, Sufficient, Good, or Excellent based on 4 years’ worth of samples from each site. There are no pass/fail standards for individual water samples; instead, the classification is based on a statistical measure of all samples, known as a percentile.

The classification uses the 95th percentile for the Good and Excellent class standards, and the less strict 90th percentile for Sufficient. If a bathing water does not meet the standard for Sufficient, it is classified as Poor.

See the EA’s Bathing Water Quality site for more details.

*Our classification: we calculate this on a rolling basis, based on the most recent 20 sampling results. For more details or clarification, please get in touch.