Overview
- Environment Agency data show 392 of 449 bathing waters rated excellent or good (87%), with 417 (93%) at least sufficient and 32 classed as poor.
- Rivers performed worst, with 12 of 14 river bathing sites rated poor; only Friars Meadow on the Stour was good and Wallingford Beach on the Thames was sufficient.
- New rules effective since November 21 end automatic de-designation after five poor years, add feasibility tests for new applications, and allow more flexible monitoring, with further criteria reforms due in May 2026.
- Officials cite sewage discharges and agricultural run-off as major pollution sources along with local factors such as birds and dogs, and they say a dry summer helped lift many coastal ratings.
- Bognor Regis, Scarborough South Bay and Littlehaven in South Shields were rated poor, and source-tracking at Scarborough identified mixed human, ruminant and bird markers as contributors; campaigners argue oversight and enforcement remain inadequate.