NRW Bathing water sampling gets underway
There’s a busy few months ahead for the Natural Resources Wales (NRW) water sampling teams who will spend the summer monitoring the quality at Bathing Waters across Wales.Between now and the end of September, each of the 104 Welsh Bathing Waters will be sampled between six and 16 times.
Melissa Broad, Water Quality Adviser for NRW, explained:
“Welsh Bathing Waters are considered to be among the best in Europe and we work hard with communities, Dwr Cymru Welsh Water and local authorities to ensure these much-loved areas maintain the highest water quality standards.
“This year we will be taking a risk-based approach to carry out bespoke sampling, the number of samples will be based on the risk to water quality.
“Every Bathing Water will be sampled at least six times and those deemed at most risk will be sampled up to 16 times which will give us a good understanding of water quality.”
The samples are analysed in NRW’s specialist laboratory and assessed against a set criterion for bathing water.
At the end of the season the results will be compiled for each Bathing Water and used to assess the water as 'poor', 'sufficient', 'good' or excellent'. This will determine the classification for the next year.
Melissa added:
"We've done a lot of work to improve the quality of our Bathing Waters, and combined with huge investment by water companies, our seas are now cleaner than they've been for years.
"However, we cannot be complacent, and will continue to work with water companies, local authorities, industry, farmers and communities to make sure our seas stay clean and healthy."
