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Swansea Bay

Bays of SwanseaBays of WalesBodies of water of Neath Port TalbotSwansea Bay
Swansea bay
Swansea bay

Swansea Bay (Welsh: Bae Abertawe) is a bay on the southern coast of Wales. The River Neath, River Tawe, River Afan, River Kenfig and Clyne River flow into the bay. Swansea Bay and the upper reaches of the Bristol Channel experience a large tidal range. The shipping ports in Swansea Bay are Swansea Docks, Port Talbot Docks and Briton Ferry wharfs. Each stretch of beach within the bay has its own individual name: Aberavon Beach Baglan Bay Jersey Marine Beach Swansea Beach Mumbles Beach

Excerpt from the Wikipedia article Swansea Bay (License: CC BY-SA 3.0, Authors, Images).

Geographical coordinates (GPS)

Latitude Longitude
N 51.583333333333 ° E -3.9 °
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Address

Swansea


SA1 3BN Swansea
Wales, United Kingdom
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Swansea bay
Swansea bay
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Port Tennant
Port Tennant

Port Tennant is a suburban district of Swansea, Wales, falling within the St. Thomas ward. Port Tennant lies at the southern foot of Kilvey Hill just east of St. Thomas and is bounded by the Fabian Way to the south. It is a mostly residential area and is the location of one of Swansea's largest public cemeteries - Danygraig Cemetery. The area takes its name from the Tennant family who developed the Tennant Canal and were responsible for developing the area. The Tennant Canal terminates at the Vale of Neath Inn (now closed) in the south east of Port Tennant. Local amenities include the Danygraig Primary School, a few playing fields to the east, a small park for relaxing ; a doctors surgery, some clubs and public houses. Also a graveyard, churches and some handy shops with take away food shops ( Indian, Chinese etc. ) on Port Tennant Road. There is a 550-car space park and ride site just south of the district, off Fabian Way with dedicated buses to Swansea city centre. There is a new bridge over Fabian Way linking Port Tennant to the docks and SA1 area. The Killvey woodland is a great place to walk a see the panoramic views of Swansea Bay and beyond. There are horses stables on the side of the mountain and hotels car dealerships, petrol stations, post offices all within Port Tennant. The Tir John landfill site and adjacent civic amenity site is located east of the residential area. The neighbouring areas are Crymlyn Burrows, Crymlyn Bog, Kilvey Community Woodland, Swansea Docks and St. Thomas.

Swansea Barrage
Swansea Barrage

The Swansea barrage (or the Tawe barrage) was completed in 1992 creating a new marina at the mouth of the River Tawe extending the leisure boat facilities already being offered by the old South Dock.The barrage structure includes a boat lock, spillway, fish pass and generator turbine. The turbine serves a dual use: acting as a power generator for the National Grid as well as being used to pump water back into the Tawe river system. The barrage has an installed generating capacity of 200kW.The barrage scheme gave rise to a number of environmental concerns. Fish navigation up the river and dissolved oxygen levels were problems that arose after completion. Salt water that came in at high spring tides sank to the bottom and stayed there, reducing oxygen levels. The Environmental Advice Centre was commissioned to undertake an aeration scheme trial in the River Tawe in the summer of 1998. The system was based on a diffuser design and propeller mixer, which proved highly effective at exporting the saltwater from the deep area of the trial site and raising dissolved oxygen concentrations at the bed. Following the success of the trial system a more extensive system was designed for the river for installation in 1999 -2000. The first stage of the installation of the designed system was undertaken in June 1999 and comprised a combination of diffusers and a large propeller mixer. The installation was conducted using a diving team to ensure optimal location of the diffusers within the river channel. The installation will be completed over two years to treat all the problem areas over a 4 kilometres (2.5 mi) long reach of river and ameliorate the poor water quality presented in these areas. Monitoring results from the system installed to date have indicated that aeration has effectively raised the oxygen concentration and assisted in the export of saline water from the system. Following the success of this work the Environmental Advice Centre is currently examining designs for other reaches of tidal river within the United Kingdom that display similar problems. Following the success of the River Tawe aeration scheme the neighbouring Welsh city of Cardiff used the same method to improve the quality of the water in its newly created bay. Other fears that arose with the building of the barrage such as the raising of the water table causing ground subsidence problems in the low-lying areas around the River Tawe. Since completion, no significant subsidence problems have arisen.