Water testinG

We've been undertaking a program of water testing for a number of months alongside Canterbury City Council using a Fluidion testing kit that has been supplied by Southern Water. We aim to test weekly and reactively to releases.*

We need to collect more data but our goal is to show how the CSO releases impact our bathing sites and to monitor the quality of our sea. We have already learned there are huge variables involved with testing seawater and the results are ever-changing.

PLEASE NOTE: Due to different testing methods we can’t directly compare our results to the Environment Agency.

We are working to align our data and have recently been testing in one location in Tankerton to compare the variation of results within the same sample area.

Our results

2023 graphs

NOTE: A result of '0' on the graphs means the location wasn't tested on that day

The Environment Agency also test bathing sites throughout the summer – you can click on these links to see their results:

Environment Agency Bathing Water Quality Classifications

There are four classifications of coastal water quality:

  • "excellent" – the highest, cleanest class – EC: ≤250 cfu/100ml ; IE: ≤100 cfu/100ml (95th percentile)

  • "good" – generally good water quality – EC: ≤500 cfu/100ml ; IE: ≤200 cfu/100ml (95th percentile)

  • "sufficient" – the water meets minimum standards – EC: ≤500 cfu/100ml ; IE: ≤185 cfu/100ml (90th percentile)

  • "poor" – means that the values are worse than the sufficient

    Key EC: Escherichia coli, IE: Intestinal enterococci, cfu: Colony Forming Units

A sample tells us the quality of the water at that specific time, but water can change even over the course of one day. In each sample we test for bacteria that indicate whether there is faecal matter in the water. These bacteria can come from many sources including sewage, agricultural livestock, wildlife, birds and road drainage.

You can find further information about Bathing Water Quality on the Environment Agency’s website.

*This data is obtained for information purposes only. It does not constitute accurate scientific data, water quality, public health or bathing water safety advice. Southern Water, Canterbury City Council and SOS Whitstable cannot be held liable for the accuracy or reliability of the data obtained and anyone using and/or entering the sea does so entirely at their own risk and are deemed to have relied upon all other safety advice available from the Environment Agency and via Southern Water's 'Beachbuoy' app.