Four more wild swimming sites designated as government vows to clean up the seas
Four popular swimming spots across the country will benefit from regular monitoring after the government designated them as bathing waters ahead of the summer months.
In a boost to wild swimmers, water minister Rebecca Pow confirmed Sykes Lane Bathing Beach and Whitwell Creek at Rutland Water, Firestone Bay in Plymouth, and a section of the River Deben at Waldringfield, Suffolk, will now all be officially protected as bathing waters.
Pow said: “These popular swimming spots will now undergo regular monitoring, starting this May, so bathers have up-to-date information on the quality of the water. The regular monitoring also means that action can be taken if minimum standards aren’t being met.”
The Environment Agency will regularly take samples at the newly designated sites during the bathing season – which runs between 15 May and 30 September.
It also confirmed it will work with local communities, farmers and suppliers to improve water quality at these locations if issues arise.
The four new bathing spots take the total number across the country to 424 – the highest on record.
Since 2010, the proportion of bathing waters assessed as ‘good’ or ‘excellent’ has increased from 76 per cent to 93 per cent.
Meanwhile, 72 per cent are considered ‘excellent’ – up from just 51 per cent in 2010.
This is the highest level ever, despite the classification standards for bathing waters having been made more stringent in 2015 – the government claims.
The announcement follows the government’s “Plan for Water,” launched last week – which included £1.1bn in funding to tackle sewage spills, which was later estimated to only be enough to cover three per cent of leaks.
Water companies are currently in the crosshairs of the Environment Agency and Ofwat over unauthorised sewage spills, with six suppliers facing enforcement action that could lead to heavy fines.
This includes leading London supplier Thames Water.
Ofwat also revealed last year that water and wastewater companies are falling behind on their investment plans – leaving promised service improvements behind schedule or undelivered.
The watchdog confirmed that 14 companies underspent their budget on improving their pipe networks and eight companies underspent their budget for improving their wastewater network between 2020 and 2022.