Blackpool Central

United Kingdom Coastal 3 - Sufficient

Blackpool is a resort town on Lancashire's north west coast. Blackpool Central bathing water is sandy and flat in profile. It is located in the middle of Blackpool's Central and South Piers. The beach is backed by a high sea wall with a promenade running it's length.

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Water

Coastal bathing water

Location

Blackpool, Lancashire

Season

Designated bathing water since 1988. Official monitoring season runs from May to September.

Water Quality

Sufficient (2025). Assessed under rBWD

Risks

Alongside the Fleetwood Sewage Treatment Works improvements, the Manchester Square Pumping Station and the Bloomfield Road storage tanks in Blackpool were upgraded in 2010. Further work providing additional storm sewage storage at Fleetwood Sewage Treatment Works and the Bloomfield Road storage tanks was completed in 2015 which has helped improve bathing water quality at Bispham.
As part of the improvement programme of work for United Utilities (from 2015 to 2020) further work has been completed to reduce the impact of storm discharges from the Anchorsholme, Manchester Square and Chatsworth Avenue Pumping Stations and improve bathing water quality on the Fylde coast in Lancashire.
In 2015 Harrowside outfall pipe was replaced with a new, longer pipe that can deal with larger flows of storm water 1km out to sea.
In April 2018 work was completed in the Marton Moss area to reduce the amount of surface water (rainwater) entering the sewer network. Removing surface water from the system creates more space for foul sewage and hence reduces the number of spills from the Manchester Square and Chatsworth Avenue outfalls. Surface water connections in the area were identified and have now been redirected to a new surface water pumping station (Magnolia Pumping Station). The surface water is then pumped out to sea via Harrowside Outfall. Additional drainage basins (mostly dry, green open spaces) have been created to store surface water during heavy rainfall. To ease the amount of water going through the combined waste water network during heavy rainfall an underground storm water tank has been constructed at Fishers Field to store excess storm water until it can be treated.
The Anchorsholme scheme was completed in 2019. Phase one of the Anchorsholme scheme was the construction of a 30 metre deep storm tank to hold 12,000m3 of untreated stormwater until it can be treated. Phase two involved the relocation of the pumping station from the headland to the park so that new structures could be built to screen and control what flows in and out of the pumping station and the third phase was building a 3.7km long outfall pipe which discharges the excess screened storm water further out to sea.
The programme also requires that storm overflows close to bathing waters have equipment installed to monitor spills to the environment. This will help to identify where bathing water improvements may be needed in the future.
This bathing water is included in the Surfers Against Sewage “Safer Seas Service”. This service can alert you to Combined Storm Sewer Overflow discharges via a phone App and in addition, it includes the Environment Agency Pollution Risk Forecast warnings where they are available. Further details of the service can be found at - http://www.sas.org.uk/safer-seas-service/ and via United Utilities website at http://www.unitedutilities.com/Bathing-Waters-Map.aspx.