Come on in – even if the water isn’t always lovely
Tuesday 25th May 2010, 2:29PM BST.
Happy paddlers Sami Tostevin, 19, and friend Lauren Kirk, 17, pictured holding her son Elliot, 1, at Cobo yesterday. (Picture by Adrian Miller, 0974641)
COBO swimmers are disappointed about the bay’s water quality but say it will not put them off going in.
Like Pembroke and Ladies’ Bay, Cobo last year failed to reach the European Union’s legal minimum standard for water quality.
It is the second time in three years that the beach has failed the test, and although it was marked excellent on 16 of 20 samples taken from May to September, its overall result was ‘poor’.
Holidaymaker Patrick Hardy, who is staying at Vazon, said the water seemed clean and unpolluted, but he had not been swimming.
‘It’s a beautiful view to pass by so it’s a pity if the water is deteriorating.’
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“although it was marked excellent on 16 of 20 samples taken from May to September, its overall result was ‘poor’”.
Can someone enlighten me how they rate a beach water quality poor when 16 out of 20 Summer readings are excellent? It’s hardly a damning indictment not to swim when 80% of samples taken in the Summer months (when people are most likely to swim) were excellent. Lies, damn lies and statistics.
The quality probably deteriorates in Winter when people let their dogs wizz and poo in the sea!
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I dont mind about the quality of the water at cobo bay, as long as the quality of the beer at the Rockmount is good!
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Oh well as long as big business is booming who cares about genetic defects and occasional dysentery.
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People shouldn`t drink the sea water anyway.
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OK Paul. You go on holiday. You and your family all pick up a pseudomonas infection from the hotel pool. But that’s fine, as the water quality meets the regulatory standard 80% of the time. Of course you wouldn’t complain, would you??
The mandatory guidelines are quite generous, so to fail it 4 times IS a damning indictment. Besides, Guernsey has yet to adopt the latest EU guidelines which would have meant an even greater level of failure for Cobo last season.
The Environmental Health Department do monitor Cobo throughout the winter months where it can be seen that water quality, in general, improves.
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Dot Comma – my final comment was a bit tongue in cheek, so don’t take it too seriously. I’m not saying that we shouldn’t strive for top water quality in Guernsey; I just think that when 80% of your Summer readings are excellent and the quality of water improves in Winter, it’s a bit strange to be rated as ‘poor.’
Oh, and I probably wouldn’t complain because there would be no proof that the swimming pool was the source of the infection.
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OK then Paul. You have a round of golf. Make par on 14 holes and have a nightmare on the other 4. Overall your score is poor, despite the 14 good holes.
‘Poor’ is the rating given to Cobo as determined by the parameters laid down in the blue flag scheme (see http://www.gov.gg/ccm/environment/coastal-management/coastal-management/beaches/bathing-water-quality.en). Nothing strange about that. If you don’t achieve the requisite number of passes, you fail. Simple.
And your last comment beggars belief. Of course bacteriological infections can be traced, especially if there is an outbreak where the common cause is use of a shared facility. A simple lab test would easily prove the link. Besides, judging by your other posts on this site, when have you ever let the absence of proof hold you back!
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Dot Comma – interesting analogy and point taken although as don’t play golf, if I managed to attain your proposed score it might convince even the most ardent skeptics of the existence of miracles!
Point also taken about tracing infections however as I don’t tend to go on those types of holidays it’s unlikely the situation would ever arise. The last times I swam abroad were in a river at an Israeli national park and when I fell into the Okavango Delta in Botswana whilst camping in the bush so it’s unlikely there would be any laboratories in close proximity to carry out testing! ;-)
Oh, finally – none of these tests would prevent me swimming in Guernsey’s waters. The cold might, though……
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