Making waves by enhancing water quality at the beautiful scenic Hastings Beach

Hastings Bathing Water Improvement Scheme

Due to the European Union’s revised Bathing Water Directive, Hastings Beach on the southern coast of the UK was at risk of not meeting water quality standards. Southern Water, our client, appointed Stantec to investigate and identify a solution to prevent potential poor water quality at this popular bathing water location.

The main watercourse through Hastings was identified as a major contributor to the poor water quality. Using targeted site investigations to determine the root cause of the pollution, we identified defective manholes and connection issues on the network.

Working collaboratively with Southern Water, the Environment Agency and Hastings Borough Council, we developed a sustainable solution that resolved all the defects without the need to construct any new, large structures.

Our solution, delivered within a challenging 12 month period, for a third of the original budget, led to Defra officially announcing the designation of Hastings bathing water as “Good” which exceeded the original target of “Sufficient”. The success of this project and the outcomes achieved for the community of Hastings was largely due to the collaborative working of all parties involved.