Bathing water quality
We are delighted that 100% of the South West’s bathing waters met the Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) water quality standards in November 2022, for the second consecutive year running, with 99% achieving Good/Excellent water quality classification.
Assessment is done by the Environment Agency showing 99% of bathing waters in our region were rated as ‘Good’ or ‘Excellent’ for 2022, compared to just 28% in 1991.
With over a third of the country’s designated bathing waters, our 860 miles of coastline continues to put the South West on the map as one of the UK’s most popular tourist regions.
Our achievements are the result of significant, targeted investment and decades of partnership work. But we’re not resting on our laurels, we know we must maintain this progress as well as go further and faster to protect the natural environment.
We’re committed to maintaining our region’s excellent bathing water quality standards all year round and dramatically reducing our use of storm overflows by 2025 through WaterFit, our plan for healthy rivers and seas.
Defra’s announcement shows improvement in classification for nine designated bathing beaches, including Combe Martin, where the organisation’s investment and interventions have helped achieve a ‘Good’ rating up from a ‘Poor’ rating in 2020. This has been delivered through enhanced and targeted investments in the local network infrastructure, as well as wider interventions across the catchment.
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Download our programme update, plan for healthy rivers and seas, plus the latest bathing water return
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| WaterFit Update - Customer Update 2023 | ||
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| Our plan for healthy rivers and seas - 2022 | Bathing water return 2022 | Storm overflows: EDM Monitoring Annual Report 2022 |
