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According to official statistics, the UK lags behind its European neighbors in both the quantity and quality of officially designated bathing places.
A Liberal Democrat analysis of UK and EU data found that England had the fifth-highest proportion of “bad-quality” bathing water in Europe, despite few swimming places per capita.
Areas that qualify for official bathing water will undergo additional testing by the Environment Agency between May and September to protect public health. These include the so-called Blue Flag beaches, which must be rated “excellent”.
Liberal Democrat MP and environment spokesman Tim Farron MP said: “Britain is officially Europe’s sick swimmer, with water companies being allowed to get rid of bad pollution habits”.
He added: “This government has failed spectacularly to protect our lakes, rivers and coastlines. The public is rightfully outraged about this issue, but Conservative ministers don’t seem to care about it.”
Many popular UK beaches, including Blackpool, were deemed unsafe for swimmers for several days this summer due to sewage outflows.
According to the Environment Agency for England, fewer than three-quarters of England’s 424 bathing establishments are considered to be of good quality.
This is in stark contrast to European countries such as Greece, Denmark and Germany, which perform strongly in terms of the quantity and quality of bathing establishments. All three countries have at least 1,000 bathing establishments, of which at least 90% have been awarded “excellent” status, according to the EU’s European Environment Agency.
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Kirsty Davies, community water quality manager at Surfers Against Sewage, said: “Unfortunately, the claim that Blue Flag beaches have pure water is a myth – it’s the same water we bathe in (and other part) are plagued by inadequate testing regimes.”
She urged swimmers to check with her organisation’s safe sea and river service before entering waters anywhere in England. SAS monitors information from eight of the 10 water and sewerage companies in England and Wales so it can alert surfers, paddle boarders and swimmers to beach runoff.
A government spokesman said: “Compared to many European countries, the UK’s small size results in less sun exposure, higher rainfall and higher population density, all of which can affect the quality of bathing water.”
It added: “The reality is we have the most bathwater we have ever had . . . Despite the introduction of stricter standards in 2015, last year 93 per cent met the highest standard of ‘good’ or ‘excellent’, compared to 2010 That’s just 76 percent.”
Environmental campaigners have been lobbying the Environment Agency to grant official bathing water status to more rivers, lakes and beaches as a way to put pressure on water companies to curb sewage pollution.
“The aim of the state of the bathwater is to force the authorities to inform the public so they can decide whether their children can row and play in the river,” said Becky Maltby, a member of a local campaign group in West Yorkshire. Clean up the Ilkley River. “When our campaign started, people didn’t know there was sewage in the river.”
Water UK, which represents the industry, said: “Thanks to investment from water companies, our beaches have changed dramatically, with more than 70% of beaches receiving an ‘excellent’ rating, up from just 10% in the 1990s. ‘Excellent’ rating.
“We recognize that we now need to do the same with our rivers and inland bathing areas, and are proposing to invest £10 billion – triple the current level – in the largest overhaul of our sewers since the Victorian era. Retrofit. As part of this, bathing water will be prioritized and one of the first projects to receive funding.”
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