Faecal contamination (pollution from poo) makes water unsafe for recreational activities such as swimming.   There are five major sources of pollution responsible for the faecal bacteria in our bathing waters. These sources increase when it rains, washing more pollution into rivers, lakes and seas and in times of very heavy rain can overwhelm sewage systems. The impacts of these events are generally very short-lived lasting 1 or 2 days.   Pollution from waste water treatment plants & sewage systems – bacteria from sewage can enter our waters as a result of system failures or storm overflows or directly from sewage works Run off from diffuse agriculture – Pollution from agriculture can be widespread over large areas. This kind of diffuse pollution can be more difficult to locate than smaller ‘point’ sources of pollution like pipes or channels. Water draining from urban areas - water draining from cities, towns and built up areas via street drains and culverts following heavy rain can contain pollution including animal and bird faeces from roads and other paved surfaces Domestic sewage – misconnected drains and poorly located and maintained septic tanks can pollute surface and ground water systems Animals and birds on or near beaches - dog, bird, and other animal faeces (poo) can affect bathing water as they often contain high levels of bacteria