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Dozens of English beaches are at risk of failing to meet tough new EU laws on water quality, according to the Environment Agency (EA).
Announcing it had started its annual testing of England’s beaches today, the EA said that water companies, as well as local authorities, industry and farmers have to act to ensure around 40 beaches currently at risk, met the new targets.
Water quality targets set out in the EU Bathing Water Directive are almost twice as stringent from 2015 and will require local authorities to display a sign advising against swimming on beaches that fail to meet them.
While nine out of 10 English beaches already meet the standard, misconnections and the mishandling of sewage and drainage are still causing pollution.
According to the EA, in some regions as many as 1 in 5 homes have misconnected drains, causing sewage to be flushed into rivers and end up on beaches. The EA says it is working with water companies and local authorities to solve the problem.
Fitting monitors to combined storm sewage overflows, which can alert water companies when a discharge is taking place at a particular beach, is another one of the solutions the EA is exploring.
Paul Hickey, deputy director of water quality at the EA, said: “The seaside economy in England is worth around £3.6 billion each year – and every improvement in bathing water quality helps to protect that. With one year to go until the new EU standards come into effect, the Environment Agency and partner organisations are focusing efforts on the small number of problem sites to bring them up to standard.”
Runoff from agricultural land and animal and bird faeces have also been blamed for pollution.
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