Bathing water quality in England and Wales

Over 98 percent of bathing waters are clean

Over 98 per cent of beaches and inland bathing waters in England and Wales passed standards for bathing water quality in 2011. That's 492 out of 502 that have passed. Twenty years ago only 75 per cent of beaches were clean enough to pass the test, so this is a fantastic increase. 

Also, nine out of ten beaches met the even higher EC standards, which are not due to come into force until 2015. These standards are set out in the Revised Bathing Water Directive.

You can see the 2011 results on Defra's website:

• 2011 results for bathing waters in the UK

More work to be done

These results are great news, but there is still more work to be done. We have already begun an ambitious programme to drive further improvements in bathing water quality and bring bathing waters up to the new 2015 standards.

We have helped to secure a further £4 billion of investment by the water industry for environmental improvements between 2010 and 2015. Over 90 projects will improve water quality at 37 coastal locations, while scientific investigation will help identify sources of pollution at a further 44 sites.

To make more improvements to bathing water quality we are working with farmers to reduce pollution caused by animal waste that washes into rivers and eventually into bathing waters. We are also working with local authorities and other partners to address pollution from roads, homes and businesses. We are also calling on householders to check their home plumbing - incorrectly connected plumbing can caused everyday appliances to release waste water into inland and coastal waters.  

Find out more

You can find out more about how we are working with others to make sure bathing water quality continues to improve. Here there are some good examples of what some local authorities have been doing to improve their local bathing waters:

• Find out what some local authorities are already doing to improve bathing waters