\n Heacham’s coastal waters have been classified as “poor” by the Environment Agency since 2021, with the cause of the problem being hotly disputed among experts and locals.\n<\/p>\n
\n After another ‘poor ‘ result, Sandra Squire, cabinet member for environment at West Norfolk\u00a0Council, admitted the coastal waters off Heacham may always have high levels of pollution.\n<\/p>\n
\n Sandra Squire, cabinet member for environment at West Norfolk Council (Image: Norfolk Independent Group)\n<\/p>\n
\n DNA studies suggest 60pc of the Intestinal Enterococci (IE) recorded may be coming from seabirds<\/a>, which visit the Wash in huge numbers throughout the year.<\/a>\n<\/p>\n \n IE is the main bacteria causing the problems at Heacham, which is\u00a0found in human and animal waste and, if ingested, cause severe stomach\u00a0upsets.\u00a0\n<\/p>\n \n Scientists are yet to gather a full picture of the sources of poor water quality at Heacham, with sewage from misconnections, agricultural run-off and\u00a0dog waste also contributing.\n<\/p>\n \n READ MORE:\u00a0Argy-bargy on the coast as beach hut owners fume at ‘greedy’ council<\/strong><\/a>\n<\/p>\n \n \n But Ms Squire warns seabirds may always cause issues at Heacham.<\/a>\n<\/p>\n \n At a recent full council meeting, she said: “Sooner or later we may have to admit, if 60pc of pollution is coming from the bird population, it may be that this area should not be for bathing”.\n<\/p>\n \n While DNA evidence suggests seabirds are a major cause, bacteria levels are highest in July and August, .\n<\/p>\n \n \n Ms Squire said\u00a0“we don’t know” why this is the case,\u00a0but suggested it could be numerous factors, ranging from increased tourism, less or more rainfall or due to birds breeding.\n<\/p>\n \n To better understand the problems, the councillor has called for year-round testing at Heacham, as currently it is only conducted in the summer months.\n<\/p>\n \n She also wants to see the entire catchment area tested to help identify sources.\n<\/p>\n \n \n “Just testing the bathing water at the beach doesn\u2019t give us enough information to be able to tackle issues,” she said.\n<\/p>\n \n Councillors also worried Anglian Water’s (AW) sewage works could be a factor contributing to the problems in the future, after the water firm warned it is nearing capacity and will be unable to cope with any more housing.\n<\/p>\n \n Terry Parish, a councillor for the village, said: “AW says going forward Heacham’s wastewater treatment works cannot cope with any more development.\u00a0\n<\/p>\n \n “Would you agree that if a wastewater treatment works cannot cope with the waste put into it then the seawater to which it empties would lose quality and get even poorer?”\n<\/p>\n \n \n Ms Squire said she could not disagree.\n<\/p>\n \n “If\u00a0Anglian Water said\u00a0they cannot cope, then nothing else should be connected to that sewage works.\n<\/p>\n \n “We all know what happens when they can’t cope, we end up with sewage in our streets, our rivers and seas”.\n<\/p>\n \n Heacham Beach (Image: Chris Bishop)\n<\/p>\n
Beach huts in Heacham (Image: Chris Bishop)\n<\/p>\n
Seabirds gather at a river outfall at low tide on Heacham’s beach (Image: Chris Bishop)\n<\/p>\n
Heacham’s sewage treatment works (Image: Owen Sennitt)\n<\/p>\n
Heacham’s beach looks out over the Wash, an important estuary for seabirds (Image: Chris Bishop)\n<\/p>\n