SEPA report that 99% of Scotland’s bathing waters passed environmental water quality standards in summer 2021

The Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) has announced that Scotland’s bathing water quality is the best it has been since 2015, when tighter standards first came into force, with almost all sites now classified as ‘sufficient’ or ‘better’ for next season.

The SEPA report has highlighted several key points. 

• 99% of Scotland’s designated bathing waters met the required environmental water quality standards for the 2021 bathing water season. 
• 38% of bathing waters achieved ‘excellent’ status, the highest number since new standards first came into force in 2015. 
• Significant improvement was achieved at Ayr (South Beach), which achieved ‘good’ status. 
• Farmers and land managers have continued to show good compliance with environmental protection measures.

Source: SEPA, 13 December 2021