Porthtowan

12.6°C Water temp · May 5

United Kingdom Coastal 1 - Excellent 12.6°C

Porthtowan is on the north coast of Cornwall. It is a sandy beach resort, approximately 370 metres wide, backed by cliffs. There is a stream that disperses over the sand in the centre of the beach.

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Water

Coastal bathing water

Location

Cornwall

Season

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

Water Quality

Excellent (2025). Assessed under rBWD

Risks

There is an emergency/storm overflow from the Porthtowan Beach pumping station, that discharges into the Porthtowan Stream at the beach. The emergency/storm overflow from the Echo Corner pumping station discharges to the Porthtowan Stream 800m upstream of the bathing water. The emergency/storm overflow from the Porthtowan STW discharges approximately two kilometres upstream of the bathing water. The operation of the overflows can lead to a temporary drop in water quality in the Porthtowan Stream and Porthtowan bathing water.
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/