Designating river environments as bathing waters: challenges and opportunities at the science-policy interface

Area of Science:

• Environmental Science
• Public Health
• Ecotoxicology

Background:

• Regulatory standards for primary contact recreation aim to protect human health from poor water quality.
• Historically, UK rivers were not designated as bathing waters, but increased recreational use and advocacy led to new designations since 2020.
• Most newly designated riverine bathing waters in the UK have not met microbiological standards since 2020.

Purpose of the Study:

• To address the challenges in meeting microbiological standards for newly designated UK riverine bathing waters.
• To propose a plan for improved understanding and management of fecal indicators at these sites.
• To offer solutions transferable to other regions needing riverine microbiological monitoring for recreation.

Main Methods:

• Review of current regulatory standards for bathing waters.
• Analysis of anthropogenic inputs affecting river water quality (farming, sewage, wastewater).
• Development of a five-point plan for managing fecal indicators.

Main Results:

• Newly designated UK riverine bathing waters struggle with microbiological standards.
• Anthropogenic inputs from agriculture and sewage are key contributors to poor water quality.
• Existing river management practices in the UK were not designed for public health monitoring.

Conclusions:

• There is a growing demand for improved river water quality and monitoring in the UK.
• A proposed five-point plan offers a framework for managing fecal indicators at riverine bathing waters.
• The proposed plan has potential global applicability for safeguarding recreational water quality.