Is it safe to swim?

← Worst beaches for sewage

Worst beaches for sewage in South Hams

16 bathing waters ranked by the storm-overflow spills the Environment Agency links to them in 2025. The other 7 in South Hams have no comparable 2025 record, which is not the same as a clean one.

Spills in 2025

  1. 1 Steamer Quay, Dart Estuary 741 from 16 overflows -30% since 2024
  2. 2 Coastguards Beach, Erme Estuary 347 from 11 overflows -61% since 2024
  3. 3 Mothecombe 347 from 11 overflows +12% since 2022
  4. 4 Warfleet Creek, Dart Estuary 186 from 5 overflows -21% since 2024
  5. 5 Dittisham, Dart Estuary 144 from 4 overflows -27% since 2024
  6. 6 Mill Bay 93 from 2 overflows -14% since 2022
  7. 7 Stoke Gabriel, Dart Estuary 71 from 2 overflows -46% since 2024
  8. 8 Salcombe South Sands 53 from 3 overflows +51% since 2022
  9. 9 Thurlestone South 43 from 2 overflows +13% since 2022
  10. 10 Slapton Sands Torcross 40 from 1 overflow -31% since 2021
  11. 11 Hope Cove 33 from 3 overflows -30% since 2022
  12. 12 Wembury 13 from 1 overflow +160% since 2022
  13. 13 Bantham 4 from 1 overflow -43% since 2021
  14. 14 Challaborough 2 from 2 overflows
  15. 15 Salcombe North Sands 1 from 1 overflow
  16. 16 Bigbury-on-Sea North 0 from 2 overflows

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 South Hams or every spill happening now.