The Bathing Water Regulations 2008

EXPLANATORY NOTE

(This note is not part of the Regulations)

These Regulations make provision for the purpose of implementing, in England and Wales, Directive 2006/7/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council concerning the management of bathing water quality and repealing Directive 76/160/EEC (OJ L64, 4.3.2006, p.37) (“the Bathing Water Directive”). The Bathing Water Directive is available from the Europa website at http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=CELEX:32006L0007:EN:NOT.

Regulations 3 and 4 make provision in relation to identifying bathing waters and the length of the bathing season.

Regulations 5 and 6 set out general duties imposed on the Secretary of State, the Welsh Ministers and the Environment Agency (“the Agency”) in order to secure compliance with the Bathing Water Directive, including in relation to public participation.

Under regulations 7 and 8, the Agency must establish a bathing water profile for every bathing water and establish a suitable monitoring programme.

Regulation 9 requires any local authority or other person that controls a bathing water to make certain information available in the vicinity of the bathing water. It also requires the Agency to publish certain information on its website.

Under regulations 10 and 11, the Agency must assess the bathing water quality data gathered under its monitoring programme and must classify each bathing water as “poor”, “sufficient”, “good” or “excellent”. The meaning of each classification is set out in Schedule 4.

Regulations 12 to 15 require the Agency, sewerage undertakers and local authorities and other persons that control bathing waters to take certain management measures at bathing waters which are subject to pollution. Specific measures must be taken where the bathing waters are classified as “poor”. Where the Agency has established certain procedures for dealing with a specified type of short-term pollution, special management measures and other procedures apply.

Regulations 16 to 18 contain enforcement and transitional provisions.

Regulation 19 revokes certain legislation transposing Council Directive 76/160/EEC concerning the quality of bathing water (OJ L31, 5.2.1976, p.1) which is repealed by the Bathing Water Directive.

A transposition note and full impact assessment of the effect that this instrument will have on the costs of business and the voluntary sector is available from the Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs, Water Quality Division, Ergon House, Horseferry Road, London SW1P 2AL or from the Department’s website at www.defra.gov.uk/environment/water/quality/bathing. These documents are also available from the Welsh Assembly Government, Department for Environment, Sustainability and Housing, Cathays Park, Cardiff CF10 3NQ or from the Welsh Assembly Government’s website at www.wales.gov.uk.