England · Isle of Wight
St Helens
Caution. Sewage discharge 5.1km 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
- 5.1km yesterday (negative factor)
- Annual classification
- Excellent (positive factor)
- Pollution risk forecast
- Normal (positive factor)
- Rainfall (24h)
- 0mm (positive factor)
- Latest E. coli
- 10 cfu/100ml (positive factor)
- Latest intestinal enterococci
- 10 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
18.9°C Mild
Sea surface, modelled by Open-Meteo.
Tide
Tide is falling
- Low water Today
- Low water Today
- High water Tomorrow
- Low 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 Southern Water within ten kilometres in the last 48 hours.
- Ended yesterdaySWS00416 · into SOLENT5.1km from the bathing water
- Ended yesterdaySWS00937 · into SOLENT6.5km from the bathing water
- Ended yesterdaySWS00595 · into WOOTTON CREEK9.5km from the bathing water
- Ended yesterdaySWS00664 · into PORTSMOUTH HARBOUR10.0km from the bathing water
See Southern Water's own storm-overflow map(opens in a new tab) →
Latest bacteria reading
Latest sample · 14 September 2026 · 2 weeks ago
- E. coli
- 10cfu/100ml
- Intestinal enterococci
- 10cfu/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 2015 and Excellent 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 16 storm overflows to St Helens. In 2025 they discharged 185 times.
Down 32% since 2021, from 271 spills to 185.
Counting every monitored overflow within ten kilometres instead, whether or not it drains here, gives 846 spills across 45 overflows in 2025.
Common questions
- Can you swim at St Helens?
- Caution. Sewage discharge 5.1km away yesterday. St Helens 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 St Helens?
- St Helens is rated Excellent in the regulator's 2025 annual classification, a percentile taken over readings from up to four bathing seasons. The most recent sample, taken 14 September 2026, showed 10 cfu/100ml of E. coli and 10 cfu/100ml of intestinal enterococci.
- Has there been sewage at St Helens recently?
- Yes. 4 storm overflows within ten kilometres of St Helens: 4 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 Isle of Wight →
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Gareth Clubb