Water quality drops on UK beaches

UK beaches have experienced a drop in water quality after one of the wettest summers on record in 2012, official figures have revealed.

The number of UK beaches that fail to meet minimum standards for water quality and pollution has risen, according to the Marine Conservation Society’s (MCS) annual Good Beach Guide.

It was found that 42 beaches failed to meet the minimum European standards for bathing water quality. This is a massive 17 beaches less than in last year’s guide.

Just 403 of the 754 bathing beaches tested in 2012 as having excellent water quality - some 113 less than the year before.

It is believed that the months of rain and flooding in many parts of the UK last year saw pollution from towns, cities, sewers and farms into the sea, subsequently lowering the water quality.

Beaches with poor water quality are not suitable for bathing as exposure to sewage and animal waste can lead to ear, nose and throat infections, as well as gastroenteritis.

Paul R Hunter, professor of health protection at the Norwich School of Medicine, University of East Anglia, commented: "Swimming in water that is subject to faecal pollution is associated with an increased risk of gastroenteritis.

"Faecal pollution in the water is measured by the presence of E coli and enterococci, bacteria that comes from the guts of mammals."

According to MCS, this water pollution has an “out of sight, out of mind mentality” as people bathing in the water cannot actually see the pollution.

MCS coastal pollution officer Rachel Wyatt, commented: "With stricter bathing water standards from 2015 and summers that appear to be getting wetter, the iconic image of people bathing off golden beaches could be at serious risk.”

However, she admitted there is no “simple solution” to sewage and animal waste in the sea.