News

Welsh university joins forces with environmental charity to tackle water pollution

26 Oct 2026 3 minute read

Barry Island seafront. Image: Matthew Horwood / Media Wales / Surfers Against Sewage

Nation.Cymru staff

A Welsh university has joined forces with a leading environmental charity in a new three-year partnership aimed at tackling water pollution and improving the safety of bathing waters across Wales and the UK.

Cardiff Metropolitan University and Surfers Against Sewage (SAS) will work on projects that improve understanding of the public health impacts of exposure to sewage and pollution in rivers, lakes and coastal bathing waters.

The partnership intends to bring together Cardiff Met’s research expertise and SAS’s experience in water quality monitoring, campaigning and community action.

Focus will be placed on sharing and analysing environmental and public health data, developing joint research projects, and supporting citizen science programmes that encourage people to help monitor their local waterways.

The two organisations also aim to collaborate on water quality alerts, data interpretation and policy development to help raise bathing water standards, aiding local authorities, regulators and policymakers in making informed decisions about water quality.

The team will also explore how new technologies, better data collection and public participation can improve understanding of pollution incidents and the possible public health risks.

Cardiff Met students will have opportunities to take part in placements, internships and research projects, allowing them to gain hands-on experience in environmental monitoring, policy development, and tackling real-world environmental and public health challenges.

Dr Stuart Scott, the partnership lead at Cardiff Metropolitan University, said: “This partnership shows Cardiff Met’s commitment to tackling environmental and public health challenges through research, collaboration and innovation.

“By working with Surfers Against Sewage, we can use our academic expertise to address real-world issues that affect water quality, public health and environmental sustainability across Wales and the UK.

“It will give our researchers and students the chance to contribute to projects that make a real difference.

“From environmental monitoring and data analysis to citizen science and policy research, we’re excited to work together to build knowledge, support evidence-based decisions and ultimately improve bathing water quality across Wales and the UK.”

Kirsty Davies, Community Water Quality Manager at Surfers Against Sewage, added: “Everyone deserves to be able to swim, surf, paddle and enjoy the country’s wild waters without the risk of getting sick.

“This partnership with Cardiff Metropolitan University is a really exciting collaboration and part of our ongoing work in campaigning for cleaner waters and for policies that protect the people using them.

“By combining our ethos of using data, citizen science and grassroots activism with the University’s research expertise, we can strengthen the evidence needed to force decision makers to act.

“We need to see Bathing Water Regulations that actually reflect how people use the water. Through this partnership, we want to expand citizen science and innovative research into the impacts of pollution on public and environmental health so that the evidence and need to protect water-users is impossible to ignore.

“Together we can help shape policy, support local communities and protect our wild waters for future generations.”

For more information about Surfers Against Sewage, visit their site here.

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