This is how clean the sea water is in Littlehampton

Water quality was rated as ‘good’ in 2018 – the second highest rating after ‘excellent’ – and retained its status for 2019.

It follows the results of sampling by the department for environment, farming and rural areas (Defra) which showed water quality had improved or remained the same in all 83 locations, with none worse than ‘sufficient’.

Dr Alison Hoyle, Southern Water’s director of risk and compliance, said the results showed water along the South East coast had never been cleaner.

“The trend of improvement has continued again in 2019 thanks to the collaborative approach taken between councils, regulators, charities and Southern Water,” she said,

“It is hard to believe that 30 years ago only 41 per cent of beaches in the region met the ‘sufficient’ standard.

“Southern Water has invested more than £32 million on improving bathing waters in the past five years including major programmes in Worthing and Shanklin, Isle of Wight.”

Improvements in Worthing have included tracking household sewers that had been misconnected to water drainage systems released to the coastline.

A £250,000 jet cleaning project has also been undertaken to reduce the risk of pollution from major sewers.

Dr Hoyle added that a range of pollutants can impact water quality including contaminated water running off roads and farmland, wastewater from private treatment works, boats and animals.

Neighbours Worthing and Bognor Regis were rated ‘sufficient’ and ‘good’ respectively. Read more: This is how clean the sea water is in Worthing and AdurFifty-eight of the South East coast’s locations were rated ‘excellent’, with 21 ‘good’ and four ‘sufficient’.