Plans to shake up the rules around bathing water quality are inadequate according to a local campaign group.

The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) announced plans on Tuesday (November 12) to overhaul bathing water regulations to improve water quality and public safety.

Reforms include removing the fixed bathing water season, which currently runs from May to September, so official testing can take place throughout the year, and redefining ‘bathers’ to include paddleboarders and surfers.

‘Bathing water sites are the pride of local communities across the country. But the current system is not working for all those who use and enjoy our bathing waters and reform is long overdue’ announced Water Minister Emma Hardy at the launch of a six week public consultation into the proposed regulation changes.

However, Friends of the River Teign (FORT) said that while it welcomed the proposed changes as ‘a step in the right direction’, in some areas the updates ‘do not go far enough’.

‘We are pleased that water quality testing will last for longer,’ a FORT spokesperson said. ‘We know from our own testing that the water quality at some locations can be very poor later in the year, even though water temperatures remain warm.’

‘We also welcome the potential changes to the definition of bathers. Everyone who uses the water, including paddle boarders, kayakers and rowers, is entitled to clean and safe water,’ the spokesperson added.

‘However, in some areas, the proposed rules do not go far enough. We would have liked to have seen year-round testing of water quality, to reflect the fact that many swimmers use the water throughout the year,’ the spokesperson noted. ‘The new rules will also make it easier for poor bathing water results, such as those that have occurred at Shaldon, to be ignored in the official calculations of water quality. There also needs to be more testing of the chemical content of our rivers and seas, something that is not addressed by these proposals.’

‘The government needs to back up these welcome changes with more resources to enable the Environment Agency to carry out more effective testing and forecasting,’ FORT suggested. ‘Ultimately, improvements in water quality can only be achieved by tackling all sources of pollution, including agricultural runoff and sewage overviews.’

Rivers Trust chief executive Mark Lloyd agreed saying ‘we will be urging ministers to make the new system more transparent and to include a wider range of pollutants that can cause risk to public health’.

Bathing waters are officially designated outdoor swimming sites. In Teignbridge the designated bathing water areas are: Dawlish Coryton Cove, Dawlish Town, Dawlish Warren, Ness Cove, Shaldon, Teignmouth Holcombe and Teignmouth Town.

FORT was officially launched last month to give a voice to the river to fight pollution and unite the communities that have an interest in the 31-mile watercourse and surrounding coastline.

The group has started its own water testing programme during the winter. On October 17 a sample taken from Shaldon beach was found to contain bacteria at levels between six and ten times the recognised limits for safe bathing.