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RECORD DROP IN BRITAIN’S TOP BEACHES
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Elton Murphy on 23 May, 2008 09:08:00
 
The  Marine Conservation Society (MCS) today announces a 10% drop in the number
of  bathing beaches recommended for excellent water quality in its annual Good
Beach  Guide (www.goodbeachguide.co.uk),  compared to last year. In total, 443
(57%) UK beaches are MCS Recommended this  year out of 779 tested, compared
to 495 last year. This is the biggest  year-on-year fall in the Good Beach
Guides 21 year history.
The  latest bathing water tests, conducted from May to September 2007,
coincided with  the wettest British summer on record.   Beaches failing the
minimum legal standard more than tripled from 17 to  53, and MCS blames this
drop in water quality largely on an increase in storm  related pollution caused
by the wet weather. However,  443 recommended beaches is still more than double
the total in the Good Beach  Guide edition of 2000, which suggests that the £20
billion invested by the water  industry has brought permanent benefit to
Britains beaches.
Thomas  Bell, MCS Coastal Pollution Officer, said: These latest MCS results
buck the  long term trend of cleaner bathing water but were pinning the blame
squarely on  last summers exceptionally bad weather. Heavy rain sweeps
pollutants like raw  sewage, street debris and animal waste directly from the
land into rivers and  the sea. Not all beaches are affected but the problem for
swimmers is knowing  when and where this has happened.
In  May last year, MCS warned that climate change forecasts meant severe summer
 storms were likely to increase  pollution around our coast, acting against
future improvements in bathing water  quality. MCS expects the new Government
Bathing Water Regulations to now provide  better public information about
short-term pollution risks on Britains beaches.  However, specific counter
measures are also needed including expansion of the  sewer system to handle
large volumes of storm water, action to address the  estimated 3,500
unregulated combined sewer overflows, and a reduction in animal  waste run-off
from farm land.
Thomas  Bell continued: The 443 beaches were recommending shrugged off the
worst of  last summers weather, which is good. But poor quality bathing water
carries  health risks, so if this summer is wet then Id advise people to use
the Good  Beach Guide, pick bathing beaches with a good record, and stay out of
the sea  for at least 24 hours after heavy storms.
The  21st edition of the Good Beach Guide is published in support of the MCS
Campaign  for Clean Seas, and is available online at www.goodbeachguide.co.uk
from Friday  23rd May. The Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) works in 
partnership with MCS, and the Good Beach Guide now carries information about the
 RNLIs national beach safety programme.
MCS  Recommended is one of five UK beach awards, but is the only scheme that
focuses  entirely on water quality standards and the risk of sewage pollution.
MCS will  only recommend beaches in the Good Beach Guide if they are better
than the  Guideline European water quality standard and are not affected by
inadequately  treated continuous sewage discharge.
The  Good Beach Guide 2008  the only independent, comprehensive guide to
bathing  water quality in the UK  is published online at
www.goodbeachguide.co.uk from  00:01 23rd May.