The Rivers Trust responds to proposed 2026 Bathing Water designations

Whilst The Rivers Trust welcomes the news that six new river bathing sites have been announced, taking the total to 13, we remain concerned that Bathing Water regulation is not currently fit for purpose.

Designation should drive not only increased monitoring, but also action to bring these sites up to higher standards. However, only two of the 13 currently designated river bathing sites are classified as achieving sufficient or good status and there has been little improvement in the others, some of which have been designated for five years. Although investment in new sewage infrastructure and action to tackle agricultural pollution take time, this is not good enough. Designation means nothing if it does not lead to bathing waters being safer to use.

Additionally, under the Bathing Water regulation reforms - as they stand - too many river bathing sites would be automatically refused designation, blocking them from getting the monitoring and investment they require to identify and address issues to improve water quality.

Community-led action and collaboration have been driving much of the work to get bathing sites designated. Citizen science initiatives such as The Rivers Trust’s Big River Watch and self-monitoring of bathing water quality driving applications for designation must be backed up by government support and wide scale system reform.

Mark Lloyd, Chief Executive of The Rivers Trust said: “Whilst we welcome the designation of more bathing waters, most currently qualify for this status in name only. Increasing monitoring of sites carries little weight if action is not urgently taken to address agricultural and sewage pollution that makes the waters unsafe to use. As ever, words are welcome, but action is what’s really needed.”