The Government has today announced proposed reforms to bathing waters to consider water sports and water quality. Mark Lloyd, Chief Executive of The Rivers Trust, said:

“We welcome these proposed reforms to the Bathing Water rules, several of which we and other NGOs have been requesting for some time. Our rivers, lakes and beaches are a fantastic natural resource which should be available for people to enjoy confidently for their mental and physical wellbeing as well as providing opportunities for economic growth. We are particularly pleased to see the ending of automatic de-designation for waters which failed to meet standards after 5 years – the focus must be on driving improvements in our natural environment and not giving up when it gets hard. We will be urging Ministers to make the new system more transparent and to include a wider range of pollutants that can cause risks to public health. We hope that applications for new designations can open again in the Spring without any further delay.”