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England · Lancaster

Morecambe South

Caution. Sewage discharge 7.5km away 2 days ago.

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
7.5km 2 days ago (negative factor)
Annual classification
Good (positive factor)
Pollution risk forecast
Normal (positive factor)
Rainfall (24h)
0mm (positive factor)
Latest E. coli
100 cfu/100ml (positive factor)
Latest intestinal enterococci
82 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

15.7°C Cool

Sea surface, modelled by Open-Meteo.

Tide

Tide is falling

  1. Low water Today
  2. High water Today
  3. Low water Today
  4. 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 United Utilities within ten kilometres in the last 48 hours.

  • Ended 2 days ago
    UUP00888 · into The River Lune
    7.5km from the bathing water

See United Utilities's own storm-overflow map(opens in a new tab) →

See every spill happening now across the UK →

Latest bacteria reading

Latest sample · 23 September 2026 · 8 days ago

E. coli
100cfu/100ml
Intestinal enterococci
82cfu/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

Annual classification for Morecambe South, 2015 to 2025. Rated Sufficient in 2015 and Good in 2025. 2015: Sufficient.2016: Good.2017: Good.2018: Good.2019: Sufficient.2020: no classification.2021: Good.2022: Good.2023: Sufficient.2024: Good.2025: Good.
  1. 15
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Rated Sufficient in 2015 and Good in 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, 2021 to 2025

The Environment Agency links 23 storm overflows to Morecambe South. In 2025 they discharged 465 times.

Counted spills a year at the overflows feeding this bathing water.

Down 51% since 2021, from 955 spills to 465.

Counting every monitored overflow within ten kilometres instead, whether or not it drains here, gives 708 spills across 33 overflows in 2025.

See the worst beaches for sewage in England →

Common questions

Can you swim at Morecambe South?
Caution. Sewage discharge 7.5km away 2 days ago. Morecambe South 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 Morecambe South?
Morecambe South 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 23 September 2026, showed 100 cfu/100ml of E. coli and 82 cfu/100ml of intestinal enterococci.
Has there been sewage at Morecambe South recently?
Yes. 1 storm overflow within ten kilometres of Morecambe South: 1 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

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Gareth Clubb