Lib Dems call for year-round bathing water pollution monitoring following spate of beach closures

Scottish Liberal Democrat environment spokesperson Sanne Dijkstra-Downie MSP has today (Wednesday 8th July) called for SEPA to monitor pollution in Scotland's 90 bathing waters year-round, following a spate of recent beach closures due to pollution.

Over the past month pollution has led to closures in Portobello Central Beach, Kinghorn Harbour Beach and Saltcoats Beach. The test which led to Portobello Central beach being closed found levels of E-coli over 10 times the safe limit.

Bathing Waters in Scotland only receive regular water quality monitoring during the bathing season (1st June to 15th September). This means similar incidents in the rest of the year could be missed.

Scottish Liberal Democrats are calling for bathing waters to receive year-round monitoring to ensure the public are aware of any potential pollution incidents, as well as new rules to enable community groups to request monitoring prior to an event.

Sanne Dijkstra-Downie said:

"Our bathing waters are visited by thousands of Scots every year, from swimmers to pet owners. They should be able to enjoy our coastline without worrying about what is in the water.

"Pollution has led to a spate of beach closures in recent weeks. At present, our bathing waters are only monitored for water quality for 3 months of the year, despite the popularity of these sites all year round. 

"This situation simply isn't good enough. No matter what time of year it is, we need to give people confidence that our bathing waters are safe to use.

"Scottish Liberal Democrats have a plan to modernise the rules for bathing waters, monitoring water quality all year round and empowering community groups to request monitoring prior to an event."