Welsh beaches rated excellent for a dip
A TOTAL of 81 beaches in Wales have been rated excellent for their bathing water by Natural Resources Wales as part of the Bathing Water Directive.
A huge majority of Welsh beaches were rated excellent for their bathing water based on regular assessments to measure the water quality in the 2019 season.
Out of the 103 sites monitored, 81 topped the list rating excellent, and 17 rated good with as few as five bathing sites in Wales rated as sufficient in the 2019 season.
Sites in South Wales rated in the excellent category include Cold Knap, Barry Island; Southerndown; Trecco Bay, Porthcawl; Rhossili; and Caswell Bay among several others.
According to NRW, assessments are carried out from May to September and ratings are based on measurements taken over a four-year period.
There are also several sites that are monitored daily between the summer months for daily pollution risk forecasts which are then issued to the public.
The ratings are part of the Bathing Water Directive, which first came into force in 1975 with the main objective to safeguard public health and protect the aquatic environment.
Across the UK, the water quality of bathing spots has improved in the last year.
Of the 644 monitored coastal and inland swimming spots, 66% were rated excellent compared to 63% last year.
However, this is still below the European average, and the UK came sixth from the bottom of the table among the 27 European members.
At the top of the table, Cyprus, Austria, Malta, Greece and Croatia had at least 95% of bathing waters rated with excellent quality, while at the bottom end of the scale, Poland had only a fifth (22%) meeting the top standard.