Sorry for the extended contribution.....
Point of info: Horse manure is mostly fibre due to their grass/hay based diet. Dogs have lots of protein and fat outputs in theirs so it's "different" and well, not so good for roses. Lots of stuff in dog mess that's less good than good old horse muck.
The protocol for removing dog mess seems to be linked to the number of people watching but on the whole, the pick up rate is not bad. Worse is the narky long legged things that rush up to you when running, walking or dragging your boat down to the water and make like they are going to give you a sly snap. But I quite like dogs when they're good and also I feel I have to accept it so I can annoy people with the Quad when taking the rescue boat down to the briney.
What's prompted me to post is the water quality issue. I've been sailing and swimming off Porty for a while now and have to say there are some days when there is definitely some kind of sewage slick floating past on the tide. You can also see some brown scummy residue which definitely looks like sewage-spindrift left in cloud shapes one the wet sand on many days. I think this is the naughty stuff - all fermented and bacteria laden maybe (don't know the chemistry) and foul looking.
I would say some of this stuff needs collecting and testing but the cost of having it done independently is extortionate - like hundreds of quids. I am sceptical of the tests carried out - they seem a bit general and the testing method is not clear. Maybe I've not dug hard enough but standards tend to be dumb things and a way of avoiding action. The source is probably the distant Seafield outfall some of which may be sucked in by our friend Tidal Eddy who makes water pass the beach the wrong way some days as the current loops in the bay.
On the whole, the beach is, I think not bad but when people are prepared to leave piles of their rubbish and beer bottles on the beach and the council wont pay overtime to the wardens to patrol between 4 and 7 p.m. when the drunken numpties are staggering off the sands, the beach is going to present users of all types with dangers.
But I love it. I do.
Max Blinkhorn.Statistics: Posted by versevend — 21 Jun 2012, 23:22
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