Bathing water quality

This chapter conducts a multidisciplinary investigation into the public and scientific acceptability of coastal bathing water health risks and proposals to revise EC Bathing Water legislation in the context of UK coastal waters. The research incorporates physical/technical, economic, and public/social assessment components, which are deployed using a mixed methodological approach. It is found that although bathing water quality has been improving and the risks of gastrointestinal illness falling, a significant level of disease burden from this source may still exist across the population. A further tightening of standards and consequent clean up of bathing water may thus be possibly warranted. A cost-benefit analysis of possible proposals to revise the EC bathing water Directive suggests that the economic benefits of doing so would outweigh the costs incurred. These findings are qualified by a number of important lessons and insights regarding attitudes towards risk management and regulation, and issues such as trust, blame and accountability of the institutions and regulatory process involved in setting standards for bathing water quality.