Swansea Bay
Swansea Bay (
Each stretch of beach within the bay has its own individual name:
Oyster trade
Oyster fishing was once an important industry in Swansea Bay, employing 600 people at its height in the 1860s. However, overfishing, disease and pollution had all but wiped out the oyster population by 1920. In 2005, plans were announced to reintroduce the Oyster farming industry.[1]
Pollution
For the last two decades of the 20th century, the bay was blighted by pollution, partly from the surrounding heavy industry and partly from sewerage outlets being sited at inappropriate locations including the main one that was located just seaward of Mumbles Lighthouse. A pumping station inside the cliff adjacent to Knab Rock brought all of Swansea city's effluent in a raw form to this point. Adding to the problem was the natural current flow of the waters in the Bay which often did not move the polluted waters further out to sea. Ironically, the outgoing tide did not carry the raw sewage down the adjacent Bristol Channel, but instead cause it to be sucked in around the circumference of the Bay and only then out down the Channel. If not fully discharged on that tide, the incoming tide would then push the same effluent up the Channel, and once again circulate around the Bay. Efforts were made by the local authority to reduce the pollution in the Bay but care had to be taken to ensure the pollution did not move to the popular beach resorts in south Gower instead.
This original sewer outlet was finally made inactive in around 1996 following the construction of a brand new pipeline which ran all the way back around the Bay following the line of the old
Power generation
Fossil
There is one existing GE built gas-fired power station located just inland at Baglan Bay. A second gas fired power station, the "Abernedd Power Station" has been approved for construction.[3]
Biomass plans
A new biomass power station has been approved for construction near the coast at Port Talbot.[4]
Tidal plans
Swansea Bay (along with the rest of the
Wind plans
In addition to tidal power, construction of an offshore
References
- ^ "Bay plans oyster trade revival". BBC. 22 February 2005. Retrieved 24 May 2010.
- ^ http://www.newswales.co.uk/?section=Environment&F=1&id=12706 newswales.co.uk
- ^ "Multi-million pound Baglan power station still on hold". South Wales Evening Post. Retrieved 26 July 2015.
- ^ "Biomass plant's £11m injection brings new jobs". South Wales Evening Post. Retrieved 26 July 2015.
- ^ "Project Planner - Tidal Lagoon Swansea Bay". tidallagoonswanseabay.com. Retrieved 26 July 2015.
- ^ "Will Welsh eels scupper the craziest 'green' project ever?". Telegraph.co.uk. 18 April 2015. Retrieved 26 July 2015.
- ^ "Swansea Bay tidal lagoon 'appalling value for money', says Citizens Advice". Telegraph.co.uk. 21 February 2015. Retrieved 26 July 2015.
- ^ Robin Turner (17 February 2015). "Row over quarry plan for £850m Swansea Bay tidal lagoon - Wales Online". walesonline. Retrieved 26 July 2015.
- ^ "Environmental Issues | GM Food | Nuclear Power | GREENPEACE UK". Archived from the original on 20 March 2005. Retrieved 16 July 2006.
External links
- Swansea Bay[permanent dead link] Official site from South West Wales Tourist Board
- An interactive, social networking and tourism web site based on the Gower Peninsula.
- www.geograph.co.uk : photos of Swansea Bay and surrounding area
51°35′N 3°54′W / 51.583°N 3.900°W
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| Beaches listed clockwise | |
| Headlands | |
| Villages in Gower |
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| Prehistoric sites | |
| Castles | |
| Lighthouses | |
| Other | |
| People |
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| Main commercial employers (excluding national retailers) |
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| Main public sector employers |
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| Companies with a local headquarters | |
| Retail |
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| Regeneration and development | |
| Tourism | |
| Industrial history |
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