Advice against bathing on 15 August 2025

Update 1^st September

We continue to monitor the Littleham Brook and over the past two weeks we have on occasions detected low levels of ammonia which are being diluted before the stream meets the beach.

Our officers have been regularly on site to verify data from the monitoring equipment.

South West Water are trying to identify who is misusing the drainage system which involves inspecting potentially hundreds of domestic and commercial property connections.

It is likely that there is more than one source to this intermittent misuse.

Our meters share real time information with our staff, and we will continue to closely monitor the situation. Please check Swimfo (link in the information bar) for advice on current bathing water quality.

Update: 19 August 2025

Our monitoring has shown that since we removed our advice against bathing on Saturday morning, water quality in the Littleham Brook has remained normal and stable.

We continuously monitor streams which feed into Exmouth beach, and pollution alarms ensure we can respond as soon as possible when pollution is happening.

We have not been able to find the source of the pollution last Thursday, and will continue to investigate any further alarms for pollution. Exmouth is a priority beach for us which is why we have increased monitoring and Officers assigned to this important area.

15 August 2025

At 10:12 this morning we issued advice against bathing at Exmouth beach following elevated ammonia readings in the Littleham Brook.

Overnight, our three water quality monitoring meters picked up elevated ammonia readings, with two separate spikes of pollution. An Environment Officer attended site last night after the first ammonia spike.

This morning, the ammonia levels are lower but are still present in the water. As the Littleham Brook discharges onto the beach at Exmouth we issued the advice against bathing on a precautionary basis while the water quality impacts are investigated further.

We are continuing to investigate what could be causing this pollution. South West Water are supporting this action by checking their assets, including for any potential misconnections to their sewerage network in the area.

This a developing situation and we will keep you updated as we receive further information. Please check Swimfo (link in the information bar) for advice on current bathing water quality. Our meters share real time information with our staff, and we will continue to closely monitor the situation.