A £1.9M investment to improve bathing water quality at Tenby and Saundersfoot’s beaches has finished ahead of schedule.

Since the beginning of the year Welsh Water have been carrying out major investment works to the wastewater systems, with £1.5 million invested on a brand new sea outfall in Saundersfoot, and £400,000 invested on a new sewer in Castle Square, Tenby.

The work was completed ahead of schedule despite challenging winter weather conditions. These included working with the tidal patterns in Saundersfoot harbour and navigating the cobbled streets of Tenby.

One of the determining factors in achieving a ‘Blue Flag’ is bathing water quality. Just last week it was announced that Wales has achieved a total of 47 Blue Flags this year. Pembrokeshire has the most flags with 11 in total, with Saundersfoot and three of Tenby’s beaches are among those recognised.

Saundersfoot county councillor Phil Baker said: “I would like to thank Welsh Water for the recently completed refurbishment of the sea outfall in Saundersfoot.

“Every aspect of the project was well managed, from the tidal engineering challenges to public consultation. I met the project team at the local exhibition in the village hall and then met frequently with them during construction and at community events they supported in the village. Congratulations to the whole team – a difficult job, in challenging conditions on a public beach.”

Cllr Baker added: “I was also delighted to see the company visit Saundersfoot Community Primary School while they were working in the area. Here, budding young engineers were able to design a water distribution network – with actual, running water. Great fun was had by all.”

Welsh Water’s programme manager Andrew Roberts said: “We’re keen to give back to the local communities who have supported us throughout this work and will be supporting several events over the summer. We’d also like to encourage community groups to apply for the Welsh Water Community Fund and more information can be found on the website dwrcymru.com.”