England and Wales have approved the Bathing Water (Amendment) Regulations 2025, a legal update made on 27 October and laid before both legislatures on 28 October. Most changes for England start on 21 November 2025, with further provisions from 15 May 2026; Wales brings the new rules in from 1 April 2026. Ministers say the package modernises oversight to protect swimmers and local nature while reflecting how and when people actually use rivers, lakes and coasts.

A key shift is flexibility over the bathing season. The default remains 15 May to 30 September, but ministers can now set a different season for specific sites, allowing earlier starts, longer shoulder seasons or winter-only windows where evidence supports it. This aims to match monitoring and public information with real bathing patterns as climates and communities change.

Designation rules tighten for new or relisted sites. From May 2026 in England, and April 2026 in Wales, regulators can advise against listing a site where achieving at least a “sufficient” classification would be infeasible or disproportionately expensive, where heavy use would undermine nearby environmental protection measures, or where physical safety risks are judged significant. Officials frame this as focusing effort where improvement is realistic; river groups warn the test could exclude polluted stretches that need the visibility and pressure that designation brings.

The long‑criticised automatic rule to de‑designate a site rated “poor” for five consecutive years is removed. Instead, regulators must advise ministers on whether improvement to at least “sufficient” is feasible within a specified period of up to five years; ministers can then allow time for recovery or proceed to removal if progress still stalls. The aim is to avoid abandoning communities where investment plans are credible while keeping pressure on laggards.

Short‑term pollution handling is tightened. Agencies may take an extra sample once a pollution incident is presumed over to confirm conditions have returned to normal. Samples taken during such incidents can be set aside from the dataset, with replacement samples taken to maintain the minimum seasonal count so that classifications reflect typical quality rather than brief spikes.

Provisions for abnormal situations are clarified so monitoring can be paused during major events and then topped up to meet minimum sample numbers. A small technical fix aligns the statistical percentile used in assessments with the standard z‑score of 1.645, improving consistency in classification calculations. Outdated pre‑season sampling requirements are also removed to focus resources where they matter most.

Public information duties are strengthened. Authorities must actively publish classifications, the applicable bathing season for each site and timely updates online and through local channels before 15 May or the start of any locally determined season. An annual report will summarise each year’s bathing season and outcomes to support scrutiny and planning by councils, water companies and community groups.

The reforms land against mixed water‑quality results. In 2024, 92% of English bathing waters met minimum standards, with 85% rated good or excellent, but 37 sites were still classed as poor as more inland rivers joined the programme. Wales reported 98% compliance in 2024 and 75 sites at excellent, reflecting continued progress but uneven performance between rivers and coasts.

Participation keeps rising beyond summer swimming. UK ministers have trailed further updates-such as recognising paddleboarders and surfers as bathers and using multiple monitoring points per site-to better capture real‑world use and risks. Water‑sports bodies and health campaigners continue to push for year‑round testing and stronger enforcement, citing pollution‑related sickness and sewage spill data.

For coastal towns and river communities, the new framework matters because it ties monitoring, signage and improvement plans more closely to how sites are used. Flexibility on seasons can keep information current for festive dips or cold‑water clubs, while a more targeted designation test should prompt earlier conversations about investment where upgrades are realistic-and honesty about safety where they are not.

What to watch next: most operational changes apply in England from 21 November 2025, with the new designation test and related guidance due by 15 May 2026; Wales activates its reforms on 1 April 2026 with guidance promised ahead of the 2026 season. Councils, regulators and community applicants will now translate the rules into site‑by‑site plans ahead of next year’s classifications.