England · Environment Agency
Poole Harbour Lake
Use caution
Downstream of a sewage discharge on the river network in the last 48 hours — Wessex Water (via sewage-map).
High confidence — a discharge in the last 48 hours is the driving signal.
Status computed 27 Aug 2026, 02:43 UTC; statuses refresh every 15 minutes.
What we know
- Regulator classification
- Excellent
- Pollution risk forecast
- Normal
- Active discharges
- None within 5km
- Recent discharges (last 48 hours)
- None within 5km
- Upstream river network
- Downstream of a Wessex Water discharge in the last 48 hours
- Surrounding overflow coverage
- Within an ingested water company network
- Monitoring season
- Currently in regulator monitoring season
Last sampled 17 August 2026 · 5 weeks ago. Source: Environment Agency.
Forecast expired 27 Aug 2026, 08:29 UTC. Source: Environment Agency.
Sewage-map data as of 27 Aug 2026, 02:30 UTC — discharges traced through the river network.
Water body baseline
The Environment Agency classifies this water body (POOLE HARBOUR) as Moderate ecological status (2022 classification). That is a Water Framework Directive assessment of long-term ecosystem health — plants, invertebrates, fish, chemistry — not a bacteriological measure of whether the water is safe to swim in today. It is shown as context and plays no part in the verdict above.
The EA’s Catchment Data Explorer page for this water body →
Source: EA Catchment Data Explorer, Open Government Licence v3.0 — data as of 21 Aug 2026, 10:40 UTC.
What this verdict means
Use caution means at least one signal argues against swimming right now — a discharge in the last 48 hours nearby or upstream, an elevated pollution risk forecast, or a weak classification. The evidence above shows which signal is driving it.
Every verdict here is computed from regulator classifications, sample dates, pollution-risk forecasts, and water-company discharge reports — it is not a water test. Absence of a negative signal is not positive confirmation of safety, and conditions on the day (rainfall, currents, cold) matter as much as water quality. Read how statuses are decided.