Cumbria’s bathing waters are among the best in England after passing quality standard tests.
Five coastal bathing areas were designated excellent, two as good and only one sufficient – in the latest tests carried out by the Environment Agency.
Named as excellent were St Bees, Silecroft, Walney West Shore, Walney Sandy Gap and Walney Biggar Bank. Allonby and Seascale were good and Haverigg was sufficient.
Tests at four places at Windermere – Fellfoot, Lakeside YMCA, Mileground Landing and Rayrigg Meadow – were also classed as excellent.
Four hundred bathing waters are monitored for sources of pollution known to be a risk to people’s 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.
The Environment Agency has been monitoring bathing water sites since the 1990s. Based on today’s data, 97.1 per cent of bathing waters meet the minimum standard, with 72 per cent reaching the highest standards.
Environment Agency chair Alan Lovell said: “Public confidence in our bathing waters is key to the tourism industry as well as people’s health and wellbeing.
“Overall bathing water quality has improved massively over the last decade due to targeted and robust regulation from the Environment Agency and the work carried out by others. In most places it is now better than it has been for many years, but there is much more to be done to ensure cleaner and healthier waters for people to enjoy.
“We know that improvements can take time and investment from the water industry, farmers and local communities, but where the investment is made, standards can improve.”
