Bathing water quality classifications, England
Official statistics, not accredited
Designated bathing waters in England classed excellent, good, sufficient or poor for water quality each year since 2016, from Defra's annual statistics. None were classified in 2020.
Bathing waters classed excellent
297
2025 · of 449 assessed
Verified against source, 30 October 2026, 11:45 UTC- Excellent
- Good
- Sufficient
- Poor
Source: Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
Data table
10 periods, newest first
| Period | Excellent | Good | Sufficient | Poor |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 297 | 95 | 25 | 32 |
| 2024 | 289 | 95 | 29 | 37 |
| 2023 | 281 | 99 | 25 | 18 |
| 2022 | 302 | 87 | 18 | 12 |
| 2021 | 295 | 100 | 18 | 4 |
| 2020 | – | – | – | – |
| 2019 | 302 | 90 | 21 | 7 |
| 2018 | 282 | 106 | 23 | 9 |
| 2017 | 271 | 109 | 26 | 7 |
| 2016 | 287 | 98 | 22 | 6 |
Source and licence
- Publisher
- Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs
- Check it yourself
- https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/bathing-water-quality-statistics
- Licence
- Open Government Licence v3.0 – Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
- Retrieved
- 30 October 2026, 11:41 UTC
- Raw files fetched
- https://www.gov.uk/api/content/government/statistics/bathing-water-quality-statisticsSHA-256 35be81966df66c7926e942aa3f1cc51836c97b740a926016ace312f78e514243 · 59,059 bytes
- https://www.gov.uk/api/content/government/statistics/bathing-water-quality-statistics/2025-statistics-on-english-coastal-and-inland-bathing-waters-a-summary-of-compliance-with-the-bathing-water-amendment-england-and-wales-regulatioSHA-256 d0984f6418816ec8103bae44b98461f395f62a5cf41d38a8a3e814fa1f455e66 · 13,660 bytes
Verification
Verified against source, 30 October 2026, 11:45 UTC Run at 30 October 2026, 11:45 UTC; 40 of 40 figures matched the live source.
| Result | Check | Detail |
|---|---|---|
| Pass | Provenance recorded | Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs; Open Government Licence v3.0; retrieved 2026-10-30T11:41:32Z; 2 raw file(s) |
| Pass | Raw files match recorded SHA-256 | 2 of 2 files intact |
| Pass | Re-parsing raw files reproduces figures | 40 of 40 figures and the headline reproduced |
| Pass | Figures are finite numbers | 40 figures, 0 invalid |
| Pass | Live source matches every figure | 40 of 40 figures match exactly after downloading 2 source file(s) again (2 byte-identical); the headline matches |
| Pass | GOV.UK table is current | latest period 2025 ended 303 days before retrieval (limit 420), from 2025 Statistics on English coastal and inland bathing waters: A summary of compliance with the Bathing Water (Amendment) (England and Wales) Regulations 2025 |
| Pass | Classes add up to the waters assessed | the four classes sum to the bathing waters assessed in 9 of 9 years |
| Pass | The Environment Agency's classifications agree | 8 of 8 figures match the individual classifications counted, and the England summary, in https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/674059cf02bf39539bdee83d/EMBARGOED_EA_National_Bathing_Waters_Classification_Results_2024.ods and https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/69205a9da0e0fb4c2936ab72/EMBARGOED_EA_National_Bathing_Waters_Classification_Results_2025.ods |
| Pass | Source page answers | https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/bathing-water-quality-statistics – HTTP 200 |
Notes
- The Environment Agency classifies each designated coastal and inland bathing water from four years of samples taken in the bathing season, May to September, against the Bathing Water Regulations. A water classed poor is advised against bathing for the following season.
- No classifications were made for 2020, when sampling was cut short by the coronavirus pandemic. The number of designated waters grows as new sites are added: 449 were assessed in 2025.