87% of bathing waters rated ‘Excellent’ or ‘Good’ as new reforms come into law

The Environment Agency has today (25 November) published the 2025 bathing water classifications for 449 designated bathing sites in England. 87% meet standards for ‘Excellent' or ‘Good' classification, an improvement on 2024, meaning swimmers can benefit from a higher number of better-quality bathing sites than last year. 

Overall, 417 bathing waters (93%), were rated ‘Excellent', ‘Good' or ‘Sufficient', representing a slight rise on 2024. 297 sites achieved an ‘Excellent' rating this year, compared to 289 in 2024, while 32 sites were classified as ‘Poor', a decrease on 37 last year.  

Bathing water quality in England has improved dramatically since the 1990s, following decades of regulation, investment and partnership work. 

These results are based on the last four years of testing by the Environment Agency which monitors for indicators of pollution known to be associated with risks to bathers' health, specifically E. coli and intestinal enterococci. 

Each bathing water has its own pressures, and many factors can influence bathing water quality including storm overflows, agricultural runoff, birds, dogs and other local issues. 

Alan Lovell, Chair of the Environment Agency, said:

Bathing water quality in England has improved significantly over recent decades, and this year's results show the continued impact of strong regulation, investment and partnership working. 

But we know there is more to do, and the new bathing water reforms will strengthen the way these much-loved places are managed.  

The Environment Agency is working closely with Defra to ensure these changes are implemented effectively whilst our teams continue to work with water companies, farmers, councils and local groups to tackle all sources of pollution and support continued progress across sites.

The Environment Agency works closely with local partners at priority sites to tackle all factors influencing water quality. Goring beach in West Sussex is a good example of this partnership working – following EA sampling and information sharing, awareness campaigns by Worthing Borough Council, and Southern Water fixing misconnections, the bathing water has achieved a ‘Good' classification this year. 

Alongside the annual classifications, the government's new Bathing Water Regulation reforms came into force on 21 November. These reforms are designed to change the ‘one size fits all' approach and more closely reflect how people use our beaches, lakes and rivers. 

The reforms include: 

• We've ended the old rule that automatically removed a bathing water's status after five years of ‘Poor' ratings in a row. Now, when a site is struggling regulators will look at the issues affecting the water quality and, where possible, work towards finding realistic options for improving it.  

• We're bringing in more flexibility to monitoring dates - so that testing can be adapted to suit individual sites and better match when people actually use the water. 

• A third reform, which will look at new criteria for bathing waters, will come into force in May 2026 to allow guidance to be fully developed. 

Water Minister Emma Hardy said: 

Our bathing waters are at the heart of so many communities, and these reforms will help people experience the benefits of our beautiful waters and connect with nature.  

By ending automatic de-designation and bringing in more flexibility to when waters are monitored, we're creating a system that reflects how people actually use their local rivers, lakes and beaches. 

These changes sit alongside our wider action to clean up our waterways so communities across the country can enjoy the places they care about most. 

Defra and the Environment Agency are encouraging people to use Swimfo, the EA's online service providing the latest information on bathing water quality and incidents, helping the public make informed decisions about where and when to swim. 

Notes to Editors 

• To protect our waterways and the health of swimmers, the Environment Agency monitors the water quality at more than 400 designated beaches and inland waters across England. We do this through a robust sampling programme – as set out in law in the Bathing Water Regulations. 

• The Environment Agency classifies England's bathing waters each year as ‘Excellent', ‘Good', ‘Sufficient' or ‘Poor', based on four years of monitoring data. 

• Monitoring runs throughout the bathing season and samples are assessed for Escherichia coli and intestinal enterococci for classification purposes. 

• The 2025 classifications cover 449 designated bathing waters in England. 

• The Environment Agency is working with local partners to take targeted action to improve water quality at bathing waters classified as ‘Poor'. 

• Bathing water designations are made by the Secretary of State for Defra following local applications and public consultation. 

• The Bathing Water Regulations reforms came into force on 21 November, ending automatic de-designation after five consecutive Poor classifications and introducing flexibility for site-specific bathing seasons, which means that sites can apply to change the boundaries of their bathing season. 

• De-designation is now a case-by-case ministerial decision. 

• A further reform updating designation criteria will come into force in May 2026 after guidance is finalised. 

• Members of the public can access up-to-date bathing water information, including the 2025 classifications, via the Environment Agency's Swimfo service.