Swimmers can now test Worthing's seawater all year in a lab at Splashpoint, paid for by Southern Water. Beach House has been rated Poor two years running.

Worthing’s sea swimmers can now test the town’s seawater themselves, all year round. A new testing facility has opened at Splashpoint Leisure Centre, Worthing Borough Council announced on Monday.

The council, Southern Water and South Downs Leisure set it up together. Community groups collect samples from the town’s three bathing waters and analyse them in the lab.

It matters because the Environment Agency only samples between May and September. The new testing carries on through the winter.

Who does what

The council’s announcement splits the job like this:

  • Southern Water paid for the testing equipment.
  • South Downs Leisure, which runs Splashpoint, provided the laboratory space.
  • Muscle Beach Swimming Club, Worthing Bluetits and WorFolk, three local swimming groups, have been learning to use the kit.

The council says the same equipment was used to test the River Seine before the 2024 Paris Olympics. Talks are under way with academic partners about using the data for wider research.

A man in safety glasses and black gloves pipettes a seawater sample into a row of small vials in a white tray at a steel lab bench
A Planet Ocean representative prepares a seawater sample for analysis at Splashpoint. Photo: Adur & Worthing Councils, PR26-096

Why Beach House is the focus

Worthing has three designated bathing waters. Two of them, Worthing Beach House and Goring Beach, were added in 2024 after applications by the council and the community. The third is the long-standing central site at Heene Road.

The Environment Agency’s own records show how differently they have fared.

Environment Agency bathing water classifications, Worthing
Bathing water20242025
Worthing Beach HousePoorPoor
Worthing (Heene Road)SufficientGood
Goring BeachSufficientGood

The classifications come from the Environment Agency’s data for Beach House, Heene Road and Goring. A Poor grade means the Environment Agency advises against bathing at that beach.

The council says swimmers and the council wanted more testing “especially at Worthing Beach House”. The results should help pin down where pollution is coming from.

The partners say they hope recent work will show up in this year’s grades. That includes fixing misconnections, where household wastewater can end up in the sea. The 2026 classifications are due before the end of the year.

What they said

Councillor Martin McCabe, Worthing’s cabinet member for environment, thanked his predecessor, Councillor Vicki Wells, for securing the funding with Southern Water.

“Giving local swimming groups the opportunity to test and monitor seawater in Worthing means we can build a better understanding of water quality along our coastline,” he said.

Mark Smith of Muscle Beach Swimming Club said it was “an important step in helping build a picture of the local bathing water” for the three groups, which swim throughout the year.

What it means for you

  • If you swim at Beach House, its official grade is still Poor until the 2026 results come out.
  • The new winter testing is run by volunteers. The council has not said yet where or how often the results will be published.
  • If you want to get involved, the three swimming groups named above are the ones taking part.
  • The council’s bathing water page has its own summary of seawater quality.

The council’s debate on taking Southern Water into public ownership covered the same beaches. We will report the 2026 grades when the Environment Agency publishes them.

Sources