In the UK, there are several ways in which our rivers, lakes, estuaries and coastline are officially monitored. The Water Environment (Water Framework Directive) Regulations 2017, and the Bathing Water Regulations 2013 dictate how we monitor, assess and improve water quality.
All waterways, including rivers, lakes, groundwater, and coastal areas up to 1 nautical mile offshore, are assessed under the Water Environment legislation. This assessment is focused on determining ecological and chemical status. This must be carried out at least once every six years, along with a river basin management plan. Within this cycle, different elements of the water quality are assessed more regularly. However, only once every six years does the actual full assessment happen, which results in updated classifications. Ecosystem health is the focus of this monitoring, not risk to human health.
Only waterways which are officially classified as designated bathing waters are monitored under the Bathing Water Regulations. The UK has over 600 designated bathing waters, which are monitored and classified to assess risk to human health from accessing the water. Bathing waters are monitored annually throughout the official bathing season (15th May-30th September in England and Wales and 1st June – 15th September in Scotland and Northern Ireland), with samples taken at weekly intervals. At the end of the bathing season, sites are classified on an annual basis.
In addition to the direct monitoring of water quality, pollution events such as sewage discharges are recorded, with the respective regulators; Environment Agency (England), Natural Resources Wales (Wales), Scottish Environment Protection Agency (Scotland) and the Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (Northern Ireland) required to carry out some investigative monitoring at sites of concern.
Water quality monitoring also takes place outside of these official programmes, for example through citizen science programmes or academic research.
