06 Dec 2022
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 […]
30 Jun 2020
Bob Earll The combination of the Government’s messaging on coming out of lockdown and the exceptionally warm weather lead to vast numbers of people congregating on the many beaches, especially on the south coast and in particular Dorset. The problem was exacerbated by the fact that so many other facilities in these towns are still […]
16 Jun 2020
Response to the European Environment Agency’s bathing water assessment Guardian: Only two-thirds of UK bathing waters rated excellent in EU survey Defra ‘Today there has been coverage in the Guardian, the Times, Daily Mirror and water trade publications of the European Environment Agency (EEA) annual assessment of bathing waters across Europe. In the assessment, the EEA […]
05 May 2020
BBC: ‘Authorities in a Spanish coastal resort have apologised after spraying a beach with bleach in an attempt to protect children from coronavirus. Zahara de los Atunes, near Cadiz, used tractors to spray more than 2km (1.2 miles) of beach with a bleach solution a day before Spain allowed children out of lockdown for the […]
19 Nov 2018
Defra 388 top-rated beaches after scorching summer boosts visitors to seaside Beaches around the country achieved top water quality standards this year as millions flocked to the coast to enjoy the record-breaking hot weather. 97.9% of bathing waters passed tough standards following a programme of water quality testing at 420 bathing spots carried out by […]
25 Jun 2018
Back in January the Environment Agency announced a new team to tackle plastic pollution in the South West. This approach seems to have been extended a further step by enabling EA staff to record plastics for all of the 400 beaches they check for bathing waters. For a long time it has been left to […]
19 Mar 2018
8 beaches in Cornwall and a beach in Bournemouth have been designated as bathing waters. Defra ‘Beach goers can take to the seas this summer at nine beaches newly designated as bathing waters on the south coast. Eight beaches in Cornwall, including Booby’s Bay and South Fistral, and one in Bournemouth – Manor Steps received their […]