100% Cornwall’s Beaches Make the Grade Against Tough Water Quality Standards

Malcolm Bell, Chairman of the BeachWise Forum for the South West and Chief Executive of Visit Cornwall, welcomed the results.

He said: “It’s fantastic to see all Cornwall’s beaches pass these tougher tests with flying colours for the second consecutive year, despite the wetter weather this summer, with Devon not far behind.

“Bathing waters are much cleaner and have continually improved since 1990 when just 27% met European water quality standards. This is thanks to massive efforts by Defra, the Environment Agency, water companies, councils, local communities, farmers and environmental organisations.

“This year is only the third time that the results have been reported against the new standards, and the second consecutive year that 100% of Cornwall’s beaches have made the grade.”

The new regulations classify bathing waters as excellent, good, sufficient or poor, based on the level of bacteria in the water as monitored by the Environment Agency between May and September. Up to four years of results from 2014 to 2017 are combined to indicate water cleanliness.
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Read the full article from the Visit Cornwall Website by clicking here ​