Bathing water at beaches across the South East have achieved their highest ever ratings in Defra’s Bathing Water summer sampling regime.
58 out of the region’s 83 bathing waters have now achieved Excellent, compared with 55 last year. Some 21 are rated ‘Good’, 4 ‘Sufficient’ and – for the third year running – none are ‘Poor.’
The breakdown is as follows:
- Isle of Wight – 12 ‘Excellent’ bathing waters (up from 9 in 2017) and 2 ‘Good’ compared with 11 ‘Excellent’ in 2018 and 3 ‘Good.
- Hampshire – 12 ‘Excellent’ bathing waters and 1 ‘Good’
- Kent – 18 ‘Excellent’ bathing waters and 10 ‘Good’ and 1 ‘Sufficient’, mirroring last year.
- Sussex – 16 ‘Excellent’ bathing waters, 8 ‘Good’ and 3 ‘Sufficient’ compared with 14 ‘Excellent‘ in 2018, 9 ‘Good’ and 4 ‘Sufficient’.
Dr Alison Hoyle, Southern Water’s director of risk and compliance said:
“Water at the beaches around our coast has never been cleaner. The trend of improvement has continued again in 2019 thanks to the collaborative approach taken between councils, regulators, charities and Southern Water. It is hard to believe that 30 years ago only 41 per cent of beaches in the region met the ‘Sufficient’ standard.”
Southern Water has invested more than £32 million on improving bathing waters in the past five years including major programmes in Worthing, Sussex and Shanklin, Isle of Wight.
Dr Hoyle underlined that bathing water is affected by many factors:
“We have an important role to play but there are a diverse range of pollutions which can impact water quality – contaminated rainwater running off roads and agricultural land, wastewater from privately owned treatment works, boats and animals on the beach such as dogs and seabirds all play a part. That’s why it is so important for all parties to work together- these result show the power of cooperation”.
Article continues below this advertisement
What affects bathing water?
Bathing water can be affected by a range of factors, including rainwater running off roads and agricultural land into watercourses and the sea, wastewater from privately-owned treatment works, boats and animals on the beach such as dogs and seabirds.
Apply beach in Ryde ‘used’ to be disgusting (in the 70’s) when the tide was out, the sand was covered in rubber johhnies, and human poo.
God knows if it is removed totally or just pulverised into a mush now, but, apart from dogs doo doo’s it is very much better.
But we do have more druknen Chavs there in the Summer and Derek Sandy, so, as one door opens, another closes.
I was expecting to find a list of IW beaches. What’s happened to proper reporting these days?