The Environment Agency has resumed sampling at bathing
water sites following the government advice on easing
lockdown restrictions.
Throughout lockdown, regulatory work has continued to
maintain the quality of bathing waters, including pollution
prevention measures such as ensuring that permitted
discharges do not affect water quality.
Now that on-site monitoring can resume, the data from this
will help highlight trends in bathing water quality and
provide useful data to the public this summer.
Bathing water quality in England remains high with 98.3% of
bathing waters passing the minimum standard in 2019, and of
these, 71% are classified as Excellent.
The latest classifications for over 400 designated bathing
waters in England can be found on our water quality
website.
Our daily pollution risk forecasting service has been
providing updates on water quality throughout lockdown.
This year the system has been upgraded providing even more
accurate forecasts of when a temporary reduction in water
quality is likely. Information on pollution
risk forecasts and warnings can be found on gov.uk.
The Environment Agency will continue to seek improvements
to bathing water quality, but everyone has a part to play.
You can protect the quality of bathing waters and beaches
by following some simple advice:
- Always put litter in the bin at the beach or take it
away with you to dispose of at home;
- Wet wipes, cotton buds and sanitary items should go in
the bin and not be flushed.
- Don’t pour fats, oils and grease down the sink, these
can pollute rivers and coastal waters and can set in pipes
causing blockages.
