🌊 Bathing Water Regulations

• Discussion Initiated: The debate on bathing water regulations was opened by Gideon Amos (Liberal Democrat, Taunton and Wellington), who highlighted the importance of natural landscapes and the recent designation of French Weir and Longrun Meadow as bathing water sites.

• Public Health and Pollution: Sarah Dyke (Liberal Democrat, Glastonbury and Somerton) raised concerns about sewage pollution in the River Parrett, emphasizing the need for more designated bathing sites to ensure water safety for recreational use.

• Transparency and Signage: Jim Shannon (DUP, Strangford) suggested the need for physical signs at bathing sites to display water quality, making the information more accessible to the public than online resources.

• Regulatory Concerns: Gideon Amos criticized the automatic five-year de-designation rule and proposed the removal of feasibility tests for site improvement, arguing that they might benefit polluting companies rather than the public.

• Bathing Season and Testing: Amos advocated for year-round testing rather than seasonal and called for monitoring sewage volume, not just hours, to better understand pollution impact.

• Financial Considerations: He noted that year-round monitoring is affordable and suggested reassessing the cost implications to ensure better water quality management.

• Local Success Stories: Pippa Heylings (Liberal Democrat, South Cambridgeshire) shared the success of Sheep’s Green in achieving bathing status and the subsequent improvements mandated by the designation, questioning the proposed reforms that might hinder such efforts.

• Broadening Criteria: Freddie van Mierlo (Liberal Democrat, Henley and Thame) discussed the need to expand bathing water status to include a broader range of water activities and criticized the current criteria for excluding organized swimming events.

• Economic Impact: Edward Morello (Liberal Democrat, West Dorset) highlighted the positive economic impact of clean water on local tourism, stressing the need for cleaner waters to support local economies.

• Community Involvement and Biodiversity: Manuela Perteghella (Liberal Democrat, Stratford-on-Avon) praised local initiatives like Safe Avon and River Hope, focusing on the ecological benefits of clean water and community engagement.

• Regulatory Reform and Public Health: Tim Farron (Liberal Democrat, Westmorland and Lonsdale) called for comprehensive monitoring, stronger regulation, and public-benefit ownership of water companies to prioritize water quality over profits.

• Government Response: Robbie Moore (Conservative, Keighley and Ilkley) supported the expansion of bathing sites but suggested renaming them to “clean water status” to avoid misleading the public about safety. The government’s plan and the Water (Special Measures) Act 2025 were highlighted as steps towards improving water systems.

• Minister’s Assurance: Emma Hardy (Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs) acknowledged the broken water system and ongoing efforts to fix it, including not shortening the bathing season and reconsidering the de-designation of sites.

• Call for Continued Engagement: The Minister encouraged MPs and the public to engage in the ongoing water review consultation and emphasized the importance of public health in designating bathing sites.

The session on bathing water regulations displayed a moderate level of disagreement, primarily centered around the proposed reforms to the bathing water designation criteria. The disagreements were expressed in a respectful and constructive manner, focusing on policy rather than personal or ideological conflicts. Here is a detailed breakdown of the disagreements and agreements observed during the session:

1. Disagreement on Core Reform 2: A significant point of contention was the proposed core reform 2, which aims to include the feasibility of improving a site’s water quality as a criterion for designation. Several MPs, including Gideon Amos, Pippa Heylings, and Freddie van Mierlo, expressed strong opposition to this reform, arguing that it could prevent many sites from receiving bathing water status, thus hindering water quality improvements. They believed that bathing sites should be designated based on community use rather than economic feasibility. In contrast, the Minister, Emma Hardy, appeared more cautious about the implications of labeling a site as safe for bathing when it might take a long time to achieve acceptable water quality standards, suggesting a nuanced disagreement that considers public health risks.

   Example: Gideon Amos stated, “If core reform 2 was in place, we would never have seen so many bathing waters granted in the first place; perhaps there would be no more inland water bathing designations in the country.”

2. Agreement on the Importance of Bathing Water Designations: There was unanimous support from MPs for the need to improve water quality and the role of bathing water designations in achieving this goal. MPs across the board, irrespective of party, acknowledged the benefits of these designations for both the environment and public health.

   Example: Robbie Moore commended the efforts of the Ilkley Clean River group and expressed pride in signing off additional bathing water designations during his tenure as Water Minister.

3. Disagreement on Testing and Monitoring: There was some disagreement on the need for more comprehensive testing and monitoring beyond the current system. Tim Farron suggested testing year-round and for a broader range of bacteria, while Emma Hardy focused on the necessity of water quality monitors that measure damage rather than volume.

   Example: Tim Farron mentioned, “There could easily be a brief deluge or a lengthy trickle. The reality is that not testing for volume and content does not give a full picture of what is happening in our lakes, rivers and coastal areas.”

4. Agreement on Need for Investment and Action: All participants agreed on the need for increased investment and action to address water pollution, including calls for better regulation of water companies and more immediate funding for newly designated sites.

   Example: Emma Hardy highlighted the government’s plan to invest £104 billion over the next five years to improve water quality.

Overall, while there were clear points of disagreement, particularly on the specifics of policy reform, the session was characterized by a general consensus on the necessity of action and the beneficial role of bathing water designations. The disagreements were technical and policy-focused, leading to a rating of 2 out of 5 for disagreement.