South West Water Launches Safe to Swim Forum on Bathing Water Quality

South West Water has launched a new expert-led forum aimed at improving the safety and quality of bathing waters across the South West.

The Safe to Swim Forum has been set up in partnership with the University of Exeter and developed through the Centre for Resilience in Environment, Water and Waste, known as CREWW. It brings together scientists, public health specialists, regulators, water companies and local authorities to use research and shared expertise to shape evidence-led solutions.

Improving how risks are measured

One of the forum’s key aims is to look at how risks from harmful bacteria in bathing waters are measured. Members will also focus on how clearer and more reliable guidance can be provided to help people understand when it is safe to swim.

The group has already held its first meeting, with contributions from experts representing the Environment Agency, UKHSA, Newcastle University, the University of Exeter, Devon & Torbay Combined Authority and Northumbrian Water.

Challenges facing South West beaches

During the inaugural meeting, the forum explored several challenges affecting bathing waters in the South West. These included monitoring methods that have remained largely unchanged since the 1980s, fragmented data sources and the growing recreational use of coastal waters.

Discussions also covered how modern science, real-time monitoring and region-specific data could improve risk assessments, better inform the public and help reduce unnecessary beach closures.

The social and economic value of safe, high-quality bathing waters was also considered, with beaches recognised as playing an important role in tourism, local livelihoods and community wellbeing.

Turning discussion into action

Following the first meeting, members of the Safe to Swim Forum are now focusing on turning ideas into action. This includes developing a forward-looking roadmap to modernise bathing water management across the region, driving research and innovation through CREWW-led studies and advanced monitoring technologies, and improving public information by offering clear, timely and local guidance on bathing water quality.

The forum is also aiming to strengthen collaboration by ensuring knowledge is shared across regulators, water companies, academics and local authorities involved in managing bathing waters.

What the partners say

Andrew Garard, Group General Counsel and Company Secretary at South West Water and CREWW Board Member, said:
“The Safe to Swim Forum is about bringing the very best scientific minds together to plan for a future where people are informed about their bathing waters and can enjoy swimming safely.

“By combining research, innovation, and collaboration, we can ensure our beaches remain clean, safe, and resilient for generations to come.”

Sean Anstee, Director of Operations at Devon & Torbay Combined Authority, added:
“The visitor economy supports around 33,000 jobs across Devon and Torbay, and our natural environment is central to both wellbeing and tourism.

“The Safe to Swim Forum provided an opportunity to discuss the link between the socio-economic benefits of clean bathing waters alongside the advances in real time water quality monitoring, to help people make informed decisions and support our tourism and hospitality sectors to grow and thrive.”

Professor Richard Brazier, Director of CREWW from the University of Exeter, said:
“High-resolution, near real-time understanding of bathing water quality is within our grasp if we bring together innovative ways to both monitor and model the waters that we all enjoy around the UK coastline. Sharing up-to-date information to enable safe swimming, target management interventions and give the wider public confidence in the quality of our waters will be a major outcome of the evidence-based work of this forum.”

About CREWW

The Centre for Resilience in Environment, Water and Waste is a joint partnership between South West Water and the University of Exeter. It carries out research into major environmental challenges, including protecting water supplies, balancing supply and demand, predicting and preventing storm overflows, treating and transporting wastewater, understanding environmental resilience and supporting the transition to Net Zero.

CREWW projects bring together specialists to improve understanding, enhance services for customers, support economic growth and reduce environmental impact.