PARLIAMENTARY WRITTEN QUESTION
(18 May 2026)

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether her Department plans to review how bathing water quality information and sewage discharge data are communicated to the public in real time.

Asked by:
Alison Griffiths (Conservative)

The Government is committed to improving the transparency and accessibility of data. Water companies must publish data on storm overflow discharges within one hour of discharges beginning. Water companies will provide equivalent coverage for 50% of emergency overflows by 2030. Continuous Water Quality Monitors are also being installed upstream and downstream of storm overflows and wastewater treatment works, with plans to publish near real time data. Water quality classifications are available at bathing water sites and the Swimfo website, including daily pollution risk forecasts during the bathing season at some sites. This allows the public to make an informed decision about when to swim.

Answered by:
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