Flamborough, Scarborough, and Whitby beaches 'excellent'

The Environment Agency (EA) say 18 of the 19 bathing waters in Yorkshire have passed water quality standards following a programme of testing at the designated sites.

The results show that for the 2021 season 16 of the 18 designated bathing beaches in Yorkshire secured an ‘excellent’ or ‘good’ rating, with two achieving the minimum ‘sufficient’ rating. England’s first ever designated bathing water on a stretch of river, which is situated in Ilkley, was classified as poor.

The seven Yorkshire bathing waters classified as ‘Excellent’ are: Flamborough South, Danes Dyke Flamborough, Scarborough North Bay, Cayton Bay, Reighton, Runswick Bay, and Whitby.

Bathing waters are monitored for sources of pollution known to be a risk to bathers’ health, with up to 20 samples taken from each site during the bathing season. Each sample is tested for bacteria, specifically E coli and intestinal enterococci.

This is the first year that part of the River Wharfe in Ilkley, West Yorkshire, has been given an official classification after being added to the list of bathing waters in 2021.

While a designation is an important first step towards longer-term water quality improvement, it will take time to identify how to meet the required bathing water standards alongside the financial investment and co-operation needed to make it happen.

To help achieve this, the Environment Agency is working with other organisations through the Dales to Vale Rivers Network (DVRN) - the catchment partnership for the Wharfe and Lower Ouse, hosted by the Yorkshire Dales Rivers Trust. The network includes local authorities, landowners, Yorkshire Water, Wildlife Trusts and community groups, and coordinates research and actions.

Initial investigations this year by the EA and partners suggest a variety of bacteria sources including human and animal DNA are impacting water quality in the River Wharfe.

The designation comes as Yorkshire Water announced new investment of up to £13 million to improve water quality in the area. This will include extra disinfection measures and a new scheme to reroute the sewage network in areas upstream of the bathing water site.  

Nationally, 99% of bathing waters in England have passed water quality standards following testing at over 400 designated sites.

Despite progress in recent years, there is still much more to be done to ensure cleaner and healthier waters for people to enjoy. This requires a combined effort from water companies, farmers, regulators, councils, local businesses and the general public.

Water companies in particular must do more to reduce pollution incidents and the use of storm overflows, while farmers must do more to prevent manure, fertiliser and soil running off into watercourses. The general public can also play their part by never putting fats, oils, greases, wet wipes, cotton buds and other ‘unflushables’ down the drain.  

Since 2015 the EA has required water companies to install Event Duration Monitors at bathing water sites. This captures data on the frequency and duration of storm overflow discharges, with all the data published online so the public can see what is happening in their local area. More than 12,000 of England’s 15,000 storm overflows now have these monitors, and the remaining 3,000 will have them by end of next year.

Environment Agency area environment manager for Yorkshire Martin Christmas said: “All eyes have been on Yorkshire this year after the first river bathing water in the country was designated in the county.

“The Environment Agency has already established a strong partnership approach to improving water quality at the newly designated stretch of the River Wharfe and we’ve put in place enhanced monitoring to help understand what is impacting bathing water quality.

”We are at the beginning of the journey at the site in Ilkley and we’re committed to working with the community, Yorkshire Water, local farmers, local authorities and other organisations to improve bathing water quality in the years to come.”

Environment Agency chairperson Emma Howard Boyd said: “With billions spent on seaside visits every year, we know good water quality helps coastal towns prosper. Twenty years of improvements in bathing water took targeted regulation and significant investment. While this is reflected in today’s results we must continue to work together to maintain this trend.

“We cannot afford to be complacent. Public confidence in water quality has faltered in recent years with new evidence of pollution incidents getting much needed attention as a result of some excellent campaigning. The polluter must pay. To restore trust, water companies, industry and farmers need to get the basics right or face legal action.

“The prize is multiple benefits to people and nature. The Environment Agency is working to ensure £120 million is invested in coastal habitats like England’s saltmarshes, which protect against coastal erosion and also store carbon equivalent to nearly 40 million people’s annual domestic emissions.”

Environment Minister Rebecca Pow said: “Water quality is an absolute priority. We are the first Government to direct Ofwat to prioritise action by water companies to protect the environment and deliver the improvements that we all want to see. 

“But we must go further to protect and enhance water quality. Our Environment Act  puts in place more protections against water pollution than ever before, we are investing in programmes to support farmers to tackle water quality issues, and we are clear that where water companies do not step up we will take robust action.”

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