Water quality : time for change

On 12 March 2025, the Government yesterday issued a press release following a consultation on changes to bathing water regulations.

In amazing news for our watersports family, the press release said:

“As part of this first shake-up to our bathing waters since 2013, the government is developing plans to expand the definition of ‘bathers’ to include participants in water sports other than swimming, such as paddle boarders and surfers. To make sure that people can enjoy these activities safely, the government will also look to introduce multiple monitoring points at each bathing water location.”

Earlier this year, the Government consulted on proposed widespread changes to the Bathing Water Regulations 2031.

McConks responded to the Government’s public consultation on bathing water change, and it’s great to see that some of the things we thought were important are likely to happen:

1. Extending bathing waters to include all water users
2. Removing the summer only sampling restriction
3. Ending automatic de-designation if a bathing water fails
4. Sampling at more than one location

There are some concerns however. We are concerned that new bathing waters will be subject to a feasibility test. Most rivers are likely to fail this feasibility teat because the rivers are already too polluted.

We’ll reserve our full opinion until we see the full changes are published, but this looks like a welcome change for the better.

https://www.gov.uk/government/news/bathing-water-reforms-keep-pace-with-britains-love-of-swimming#:~:text=Water%20Minister%20Emma%20Hardy%20said,they%20are%20fit%20for%20purpose.