Environment Agency sampling of bathing waters at Devon and Cornwall's 155 monitored beaches has started and will run through until the end of September. 

A giant countdown clock is on display in Southern Water’s Operational Control Centre – ticking down the days until the start of the Environment Agency’s bathing water season.

The government has set out plans to reform the bathing water regulations, saying that the reforms to modernise bathing waters could see swimmers enjoying cleaner water and flexible seasons.

The government has welcomed the Office for Environmental Protection’s (OEP) review of the implementation of the current Bathing Water Regulations 2013 in England, saying that the OEP recommendations are aligned with the government’s proposed reforms to the Bathing Water Regulations 2013. The OEP published its review in November 2024.

Untreated sewage discharges and unpermitted outfalls have caused dangerously high levels of bacteria to be found at multiple sites across a nine-mile stretch of the River Roding, London’s third longest river, a new study by environmental charity Thames21 and The River Roding Trust has found.

The Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) is reporting that in 2025 the highest number of Scotland's bathing waters on record will meet the best environmental standards, with 87% achieving Excellent or Good classifications. A further 10% will meet the Sufficient standard.

Water UK, the body which represents all the UK water companies, has launched an interactive map showing the operation of every single storm overflow in England.

The Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (Defra) and the Welsh Government have today launched a new consultation on proposals to reform the Bathing Water Regulations 2013.

South West Water has now completed a temporary repair to a burst sewer pipe at its Maer Road pumping station which resulted in raw sewage spilling into the sea off Exmouth beach from its Maer rocks Combined Sewer Overflow.

Just weeks before the school holidays began in the Lake District, Blue Green Algae samples exceeded World Health Organisation (WHO) limits for recreational use of Lake Windermere, according to campaigning organisation Save Windermere.