Bathing Water Quality

There are more than 450 designated bathing waters in England. When a bathing water is designated, it means we monitor its water quality during the bathing season which runs from May to the end of September. The data we collect is made available to the public to help inform decisions on when and where to bathe. It also helps us to identify potential sources of pollution which include land run-off, storm overflow discharges, diffuse pollution from agriculture, highway drainage, birds and animals.

We take targeted action at all bathing waters that are classified as poor and work with councils, water companies, farmers, local businesses and communities to investigate, maintain and improve water quality at all designated bathing waters.

		Choose when and where to swim Throughout the year, many people will enjoy swimming in lakes, rivers and the sea. Swimfo gives the latest water quality data as well as an annual classification for each designated water helping people choose where and when to swim.
		Swim healthy Open water swimming refers to swimming in lakes, rivers and the sea, rather than in a swimming pool and carries different risks. Read more on these and how to reduce the risk of getting ill in the guidance we have produced with UKHSA.
		Water quality monitoring data Data is collected and used to produce an annual classification for each bathing water. There are four classifications: Excellent, the highest cleanest class; Good, generally good water quality; Sufficient, the water quality meets the minimum standard and Poor, the water quality has not met the minimum standard.
		Behind the scenes Environment Agency scientist Emily Egglestone explains how a bathing water sample is tested to see how clean it is.

Thank you for visiting our new water hub. This is a pilot service. We acknowledge not everything is covered here yet, this is a new offering which will grow over the coming months.