New Bathing Sites Designated But Water Quality Not Guaranteed

The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) has designated 13 new bathing water sites under the Bathing Sites Regulations 2013. However, designation does not bring with it a guarantee of water quality rated “sufficient” to swim in.

Designation results in the Environment Agency monitoring the site’s water throughout the official bathing season which runs from 15 May to 30 September 2026. The results are published online and the sites are classified according to prescribed water quality standards. The new sites probably will not be classified until the season is over. The classifications are excellent, good, sufficient and poor. DEFRA says local authorities will be responsible for providing public information on water quality and managing pollution incidents, with government funding available towards information signage costs.

It is the inland bathing water sites which are particularly prone to poor water quality. Coastal sites benefit from the natural disinfection of seawater and faecal matter entering the sea tends to have a high level of dispersion. Inland bathing sites tend to be more connected to sources of faecal material such as sewage treatment works and agricultural fields with run-off and the rate of dispersion is lower.

This month the BBC reported that it had visited all the 14 existing inland river locations which were tested by the Environment Agency last year for contamination from bacteria linked to human and animal faeces. Water quality at 12 of them was rated as “poor” and visitors were advised not to swim. The River Stour site in Suffolk and the River Thames site in Oxfordshire had acceptable levels.

It is, therefore, important not to assume that designated bathing sites equate to safe swimming sites. Water UK are reported to have said:

“Designating an area as a bathing water before it is suitable for bathing and without a plan in place to clean it up risks confusing the public, who will rightly believe it is safe to swim there.”

Ironically, in order to get a popular swimming place designated and secure the water quality testing that follows, there needs to be a minimum number of regular bathers, amongst other things. So, campaigners are swimming in spots where the water quality is unknown. Some say that they do so only when there has not been heavy rainfall or storms which might have triggered polluting events from storm outlet discharges and heavy agricultural run-off. It’s not a pleasant risk to run. However, securing water quality testing does then put pressure on water companies to invest in improving the water quality in that area.