Worst beaches for sewage in Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole
10 bathing waters ranked by the storm-overflow spills the Environment Agency links to them in 2025. The other 9 in Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole have no comparable 2025 record, which is not the same as a clean one.
Spills in 2025
- 1 Christchurch Avon Beach 84 from 12 overflows +40% since 2022
- 2 Friar's Cliff, Christchurch 84 from 12 overflows +40% since 2022
- 3 Poole Harbour Rockley Sands 69 from 9 overflows +8% since 2021
- 4 Poole Shore Road Beach 25 from 1 overflow -11% since 2022
- 5 Bournemouth Hengistbury West 17 from 3 overflows +6% since 2022
- 6 Bournemouth Boscombe Pier 14 from 1 overflow +100% since 2022
- 7 Poole Harbour Lake 12 from 3 overflows -8% since 2021
- 8 Bournemouth Pier 11 from 1 overflow +10% since 2022
- 9 Highcliffe 4 from 1 overflow -56% since 2023
- 10 Fisherman's Walk, Bournemouth 1 from 1 overflow -50% since 2021
How this is counted
Each figure counts spills from the storm overflows the Environment Agency links to that bathing water in its annual Event Duration Monitoring return, so it follows the sewer network rather than a map radius. Spills only: the return's duration column is not reliable enough to publish.
See the cleanest beaches in Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole or every spill happening now.