England · Environment Agency
South Shields
Use caution
Sewage discharge in the last 48h from REDWELL SPS (5 recent events within 5km, Northumbrian Water).
High confidence — a discharge in the last 48 hours is the driving signal.
Status computed 23 Aug 2026, 04:43 UTC; statuses refresh every 15 minutes.
What we know
- Regulator classification
- Good
- Pollution risk forecast
- Normal
- Active discharges
- None within 5km
- Recent discharges (last 48 hours)
- 5 within 5km
- Upstream river network
- Downstream of a Northumbrian 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 12 August 2026 · 6 weeks ago. Source: Environment Agency.
Forecast expired 23 Aug 2026, 08:29 UTC. Source: Environment Agency.
Most recent at REDWELL SPS (Northumbrian Water) — ended 21 Aug 2026, 12:52 UTC.
Sewage-map data as of 23 Aug 2026, 04:30 UTC — discharges traced through the river network.
Water body baseline
The Environment Agency classifies this water body (Tyne and Wear) as Good 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.