Reform to bathing water regulations – make your views known!
In a consultation launched on 12 November, Defra are inviting the public, community groups, environmental groups, farmers, businesses and local authorities to share their views on modernising bathing water regulations to ensure a more flexible approach to designation and monitoring.
The proposed changes, which will benefit cold water swimmers and other water sports enthusiasts, include:
- Removal of fixed bathing water season dates (which currently runs from May to September) from the regulations to allow for a more flexible approach to monitoring, extending the dates of the bathing season to better reflect when people use bathing waters.
- Expanding the legal definition of ‘bathers’ to include participants in water sports other than swimming, including paddle boarders and surfers.
- Further considering water quality and public safety when applications for new bathing waters are assessed.
- Introducing multiple testing points at bathing water sites.
- Ending the automatic de-designation of bathing water status after 5 consecutive years of a site being rated ‘poor’, which can damage local tourism and businesses. Instead, underperforming sites will be individually reviewed by regulators, taking into account their unique circumstances.
Click on the link above to go direct to the .gov.uk site and have your say on this important topic!