Sussex water quality rated on new website

The water quality at locations around Europe can be rated by people in the area and compared alongside official pollution statistics.

According to Sussex newspaper the Argus, some areas of the region have very poor water quality.

The news provider revealed that the sea off of Newhaven was described as "dirty, polluted and unsafe" by members of the public, while the European Environment Agency (EEA) labelled the water quality "very bad".

However, it pointed out that many of the other areas featured on the map, which was developed by the EEA, are rated as "very good".

A spokesperson for the organisation told the newspaper that the Eye On Earth site features information about the water quality at over 22,000 coastal locations around Europe.

It also includes figures relating to air quality from more than 1,000 monitoring stations across the continent.

According to the UK's Environment Agency, the most common causes of pollution to bathing water are agricultural manure, animal faeces and human sewage.

In September last year, the organisation revealed that it will employ a DNA technique to help trace the source of water pollution.

Posted by Claire Manning