Wet summer dilutes English bathing water performance
Bathing water standards slipped slightly in 2023, `ccording to the Environment Agency (EA).
Those rated "sufficient" fell from 97% in 2022 to 96% this year, while those rated "good’"or "excellent" dipped from 93% to 90%.
According to the agency, which sampled 400 designated sites throughout the summer season for E coli and intestinal enterococci, the slippage may in part be due to “an unseasonably wet summer causing run-off”.
Defra and the EA pointed out that the results remain way up on those of previous decades: just 28% were rated as ‘good’ or ‘excellent’ in the 1990s and 76% in 2010. They said action would be taken for the bathing waters classified as "poor".
The results included for the first time the four new sites added for the 2023 season: Whitwell Creek and Sykes Lane on Rutland Water; the Riven Deben Estuary at Waldringfield; and Plymouth Firestone Bay.
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