Sandy Bay

Backed by high cliffs, the beach is around a mile in length and set in what feels like a secluded bay. However, towards low tide the beach becomes a continuous stretch of sand reaching all the way to Exmouth nearly two miles away. With Sandy Bay's close proximity to Exeter this means it can get pretty busy in the summer. Just west of Sandy Bay are Orcombe rocks, a heritage site, well-known for its fossils.

 

Overflow locations

The map below shows the locations of the storm overflows that have the potential to impact water quality at this bathing water.

The map shows whether or not a storm overflow is currently active, the time and duration of the last spill at that location, and our investment commitments that are specific to that overflow.

Sandy Bay storm overflow map

Water quality sample results

The graphs below show the significant reduction in harmful bacteria in the Environment Agency’s (EA) water samples since the 1990s. E. coli and  Intestinal Enterococci exist in all open water - they are found in human and animal poo, and get into the water via sewage spills, road drainage, agricultural livestock, or wildlife and birds. The EA uses the levels of these bacteria to decide whether to award this beach bathing water status.

2025-2030 investment programme

The 2025-2030 investment programme is currently being scoped out. If you’re a community group or part of a local network and would like to have your say see ‘Your Beach, Your Say, Our Investment’.

4 year overflow spill information

The data shown in the table below is the reported annual total spill number for each overflow which has been identified by the EA for this bathing water.

The assignment of an overflow to the bathing water does not always mean an impact will occur, it can be dependent on a number of factors such as tidal state and weather conditions. Sometimes it has been allocated just for investigation purposes and has no impact at all.

All data collected goes through vigorous quality assurance processes before being included in the counts. Sometimes debris can trigger false spills to be recorded, resulting in potentially higher than actual spill numbers.

Number of spills

  2023 2022 2021 2020
Maer Lane sewage treatment works settled storm overflow, Exmouth 83 32 49 59
Picture of a blue Cornish beach

Tell us about your beach

We're inviting local community and stakeholder groups to work with us, as we consider where we need to prioritise our investment for 2025.

Your Beach, Your Say, Our Investment
Picture of a dark storm over some hills

More about storm overflows

We know that as a water company, we have a big part to play in improving our network and reducing the number of discharges. We also know there's lots more work to do.

Find out more

The beach profiles were created in line with information provided by our partners, Environment AgencyRNLIKeep Britain TidyMCS - Beach Guide and British Beaches.