Water UK responds to Guardian European bathing water article

Responding to the Guardian article - UK ranked last in Europe for bathing water quality in 2020 - a Water UK spokesperson said:

“Water companies are proud of their record on bathing water with great strides made over the last 20 years. In 2019, the last time data was available, a record 93% of English bathing waters were classified as either Good or Excellent.

“The artificial placement of the UK in this table reflects the absence of data from over 70% of sites due to Covid restrictions, rather than actual performance. In reality the improvement in our bathing waters is a significant success story and the sector is going even further with a record £5billion being spent on environmental improvements between 2020 and 2025.”