UK bathing-water quality, in plain English

The current official status for the coast you dive, swim and surf, drawn straight from the UK Environment Agency's designated bathing-water classifications. Each beach is rated Excellent, Good, Sufficient or Poor from four years of samples of the faecal-indicator bacteria E. coli and intestinal enterococci. Nearby readings also appear on the Conditions screen in the Diving Standard app.

What the classifications mean

Excellent — the highest class, meeting the strictest bacterial standard. Good — a comfortable pass. Sufficient — the minimum pass. Poor — below the standard; the EA advises against bathing.

A classification is an annual status, not a live measurement of the water on any single day. Quality can drop for a day or two after heavy rain, when storm overflows discharge. During the bathing season the EA also issues short-term pollution-risk warnings on individual beach profiles.

Source

All classifications are published by the UK Environment Agency and used under the Open Government Licence v3.0. For Wales, classifications come from Natural Resources Wales on the same basis. Shown for situational awareness only, never a substitute for a beach's own current advice or on-site signage.