England · Southend-on-Sea
Leigh Bell Wharf
Caution. Sewage discharge 0.6km away yesterday.
Water quality only This says nothing about tides, rip currents, cold water shock or lifeguard cover. Cold water and currents are dangerous even when the water is clean. Read the local signs before you go in. What we cannot tell you.
Checked UK time
Why this verdict
- Bathing season
- Closed until 15 May (neutral factor)
- Discharge nearby
- 0.6km yesterday (negative factor)
- Annual classification
- Good (positive factor)
- Pollution risk forecast
- Normal (positive factor)
- Rainfall (24h)
- 0mm (positive factor)
- Latest E. coli
- 27 cfu/100ml (positive factor)
- Latest intestinal enterococci
- 55 cfu/100ml (positive factor)
Out of season
Weekly sampling and the daily pollution-risk forecast pause on 30 September and resume on 15 May. This verdict rests on the annual classification, live storm-overflow data and rainfall in the last 24 hours.
Storm overflows are driven by rain, so they spill more in autumn and winter than in summer. See every spill happening now across the UK.
Water temperature
18.4°C Mild
Sea surface, modelled by Open-Meteo.
Tide
Tide is falling
- Low water Today
- High water Today
- Low water Today
- High water Tomorrow
Modelled by Open-Meteo and approximate. Checked against tide gauges these times ran up to half an hour early, so treat them as a guide to whether the water is coming in or going out, not as a tide table. For exact times see Admiralty EasyTide.
Recent sewage discharges nearby
Storm overflows operated by Anglian Water within ten kilometres in the last 48 hours.
- Ended yesterdayAWS01166 · into THAMES ESTUARY600m from the bathing water
- Ended 19 hours agoAWS01179 · into THAMES ESTUARY5.7km from the bathing water
- Ended 16 hours agoAWS00198 · into THAMES ESTUARY6.4km from the bathing water
- Ended 16 hours agoAWS01185 · into THAMES ESTUARY7.5km from the bathing water
- Ended 15 hours agoAWS00417 · into TRIB OF THE RIVER CROUCH8.3km from the bathing water
See Anglian Water's own storm-overflow map(opens in a new tab) →
Latest bacteria reading
Latest sample · 24 September 2026 · 7 days ago
- E. coli
- 27cfu/100ml
- Intestinal enterococci
- 55cfu/100ml
This is the most recent reading. Sampling resumes on 15 May. E. coli and intestinal enterococci are the indicator organisms used in the official classification.
Classification record, 2015 to 2025
Rated Good in both 2015 and 2025.
The regulator republishes this every November as a percentile over readings from up to four bathing seasons, so it describes the water's record rather than today. No classification was made for 2020, when the pandemic cut the bathing season short.
Sewage spills, 2024 to 2025
The Environment Agency links 4 storm overflows to Leigh Bell Wharf. In 2025 they discharged 11 times.
Down 45% since 2024, from 20 spills to 11.
Counting every monitored overflow within ten kilometres instead, whether or not it drains here, gives 474 spills across 72 overflows in 2025.
Common questions
- Can you swim at Leigh Bell Wharf?
- Caution. Sewage discharge 0.6km away yesterday. Leigh Bell Wharf is a designated bathing water, so it is sampled and rated every season. This answer covers water quality only, not tides, currents or lifeguard cover.
- What is the water quality like at Leigh Bell Wharf?
- Leigh Bell Wharf is rated Good in the regulator's 2025 annual classification, a percentile taken over readings from up to four bathing seasons. The most recent sample, taken 24 September 2026, showed 27 cfu/100ml of E. coli and 55 cfu/100ml of intestinal enterococci.
- Has there been sewage at Leigh Bell Wharf recently?
- Yes. 5 storm overflows within ten kilometres of Leigh Bell Wharf: 5 in the last 48 hours.
Where this data comes from
- Contains Environment Agency information © Environment Agency and database right
- Contains water-company storm overflow data, licensed under OGL v3
- Spill counts from the Environment Agency EDM Storm Overflow Annual Returns, 2021 to 2025, published annually.
- View the regulator's full profile
Other beaches nearby
Cleanest beaches in Southend-on-Sea →
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Gareth Clubb