The government has committed to reforms for bathing waters, following a public consultation on the issue.
The update to regulations will be welcome news for scuba divers and snorkellers, as well as the wider community of water users represented by the Clean Water Sports Alliance, of which BSAC is a member.
The government says it is working on robust research and development on wider reforms, the first since 2013. These include expanding the definition of ‘bathers’ to include participants in water sports other than swimming, such as divers and snorkellers, but also paddle boarders, surfers, and many more.
It also plans to introduce multiple monitoring points at each bathing water location.
Applications for new bathing waters in England will re-open at the start of the 2025 bathing water season. Prospective sites will be assessed against the government’s newly reformed standards, set to become law later this year.
The reforms to modernise bathing waters could see swimmers (and snorkellers) enjoying flexible seasons while water quality and public health are prioritised at new sites.
Key reforms will include:
- Removing fixed bathing season dates (which currently runs from May to September) from the regulations to allow for a more flexible approach to monitoring, and to better reflect when people use bathing waters.
- Further considering water quality, public safety and environmental considerations when applications for new bathing waters are assessed.
- Ending the automatic de-designation of bathing water status after five consecutive years of a site being rated ‘poor’, which can damage local tourism and businesses. Instead, underperforming sites will be individually reviewed by regulators, taking into account their unique circumstances.
Background
After years of failure, public anger appears to be growing over sewage spills. In response the government plans to modernise the outdated bathing water regulations, to make sure our precious sites are given the right technical and financial support to improve.
Updating bathing water regulations is part the wider action government is taking to fix the water system - from banning bonuses for polluting water bosses through the Water (Special Measures) Act to ringfencing customer money for vital infrastructure upgrades and launching the largest review into the water sector since privatisation.
Water Minister Emma Hardy said:
The Government is upgrading outdated regulations so they are fit for purpose. It is also why we are re-opening applications for new bathing sites in England, so that more people have the opportunity to experience the benefits of our beautiful waters.
Katherine Knight, BSAC Chair of Environment and Sustainability said:
This in an encouraging announcement. Cleaner bathing waters will benefit ourselves as divers and snorkellers, as well as the broader community who use blue spaces for health and well being. Importantly, improvements in water quality also benefit the natural aquatic environment in our waterways, and in turn in our oceans.
