97.1% of bathing waters in England have passed water quality standards following testing at over 400 designated sites carried out by the Environment Agency (EA).

The results show that for the 2022 bathing season, 72.1% of beaches and inland waters met the ‘Excellent’ standard, the highest since new stringent standards were introduced in 2015. 92.8% of beaches and inland waters gained an ‘Excellent’ or ‘Good’ rating, while 4% achieved the minimum ‘Sufficient’ rating. This compares with 99% passing the required standards in 2021.

Bathing waters are monitored for sources of pollution known to be a risk to bathers’ health, with up to 20 samples taken from each site during the bathing season. Each sample is tested for bacteria, specifically E coli and intestinal enterococci.

There are over 400 bathing water locations in England, with the vast majority being coastal and less than 20 being inland lakes and rivers. The two designated river bathing waters received a classification of ‘Poor’.

Storm overflow discharges

Since 2015 the EA has required water companies to install Event Duration Monitors at bathing water sites. This captures data on the frequency and duration of storm overflow discharges, with all the data published online so the public can see what is happening in their local area.

Sewage discharge alerts

As part of its water quality report, the environmental campaign group Surfers Against Sewage (SAS) analysed data from 720 sickness reports submitted to its reporting system. The data found that over a third (39%) of sickness cases correlated to sewage discharge alerts, while 63% of cases that were reported to a doctor were attributed to poor water quality.

Over half of the sickness reports related to swims at locations classified as “excellent” under the government’s testing regime.

Fines to be channelled into environmental improvements

The same day that Defra and the EA announced the annual bathing water quality results for England, the UK Government also stated that money from fines handed out to water companies that pollute the sea will be re-invested in schemes that benefit the natural environment.

At present, money from fines imposed by Ofwat and those arising from Environment Agency prosecutions is returned to the Treasury. Under the new plans, ringfenced funds will go to Defra and will be invested directly back into environmental and water quality improvement projects.

More to be done to improve bathing waters

Environment Agency Chair Alan Lovell said: “Public confidence in our bathing waters is key to the tourism industry as well as people’s health and wellbeing.

“We know that improvements can take time and investment from the water industry, farmers and local communities, but where the investment is made, standards can improve.”

Water Minister Rebecca Pow said: “I welcome the good news that more bathing waters than ever have met the highest standard of excellent at just over 72% of all our bathing waters – an increase from last year – but there is more to be done to improve our bathing waters and we must not rest on our laurels.

The full press release from the EA and Defra can be read here. The response to the results from SAS can be read here. The Bathing Water Quality Statistics for England can be found here.