The Environment Agency has published the 2025 bathing water classifications for 449 designated bathing sites in England - 87% meet standards for ‘Excellent’ or ‘Good’ classification, an improvement on 2024.

Overall, 417 bathing waters (93%), were rated ‘Excellent’, ‘Good’ or ‘Sufficient’, representing a slight rise on 2024. 297 sites achieved an ‘Excellent’ rating this year, compared to 289 in 2024, while 32 sites were classified as ‘Poor’, a decrease on 37 last year.

The Environment Agency classifies England’s bathing waters each year as ‘Excellent’, ‘Good’, ‘Sufficient’ or ‘Poor’, based on four years of monitoring data. The results are based on these last four years of testing by the Agency which monitors for indicators of pollution known to be associated with risks to bathers’ health, specifically E. coli and intestinal enterococci.

Each bathing water has its own pressures, and many factors can influence bathing water quality including storm overflows, agricultural runoff, birds, dogs and other local issues.

Alan Lovell, Chair of the Environment Agency, said:

“Bathing water quality in England has improved significantly over recent decades, and this year’s results show the continued impact of strong regulation, investment and partnership working.

“But we know there is more to do, and the new bathing water reforms will strengthen the way these much-loved places are managed.

“The Environment Agency is working closely with Defra to ensure these changes are implemented effectively whilst our teams continue to work with water companies, farmers, councils and local groups to tackle all sources of pollution and support continued progress across sites.”

The Environment Agency works closely with local partners at priority sites to tackle all factors influencing water quality. Goring beach in West Sussex is a good example of this partnership working – following EA sampling and information sharing, awareness campaigns by Worthing Borough Council, and Southern Water fixing misconnections, the bathing water has achieved a ‘Good’ classification this year.

Alongside the annual classifications, the government’s new Bathing Water Regulation reforms came into force on 21 November. The reforms are designed to change the ‘one size fits all’ approach and more closely reflect how people use beaches, lakes and rivers, introducing flexibility for site-specific bathing seasons, which means that sites can apply to change the boundaries of their bathing season.

The reforms include:

• Ending the old rule that automatically removed a bathing water’s status after five years of ‘Poor’ ratings in a row. Now, when a site is struggling regulators will look at the issues affecting the water quality and, where possible, work towards finding realistic options for improving it.
• Bringing in more flexibility to monitoring dates - so that testing can be adapted to suit individual sites and better match when people actually use the water.
• De-designation is now a case-by-case ministerial decision.
• A further reform updating designation criteria which will look at new criteria for bathing waters will come into force in May 2026 after guidance is finalised.

Water Minister Emma Hardy said:

“Our bathing waters are at the heart of so many communities, and these reforms will help people experience the benefits of our beautiful waters and connect with nature.

“By ending automatic de-designation and bringing in more flexibility to when waters are monitored, we’re creating a system that reflects how people actually use their local rivers, lakes and beaches.”

The Environment Agency monitors the water quality at more than 400 designated beaches and inland waters across England through a robust sampling programme.

Monitoring runs throughout the bathing season and samples are assessed for Escherichia coli and intestinal enterococci for classification purposes. The 2025 classifications cover 449 designated bathing waters in England.

The Environment Agency is working with local partners to take targeted action to improve water quality at bathing waters classified as ‘Poor’.

Bathing water designations are made by the Secretary of State for Defra following local applications and public consultation.