This week marks the start of the bathing water season across the UK and as the weather heats up, Anglian Water is kickstarting its latest tranche of investment to protect and improve bathing water quality, as part of its largest ever business plan, which is worth over £11 billion.

Over the next two years, the region’s water company will be investing more than £30 million into capital investment to improve bathing water quality, and specific studies to identify potential sources of poor water quality at some of the region’s bathing spots. This work will be supported by a further £56 million of additional funding from 2027, which will be put into schemes to protect and enhance water quality.

Anglian Water’s region has an extensive coastline, stretching from the Humber Bank in the north to the Thames Estuary in the south, which already has some of the UK’s cleanest bathing waters. More than 90 per cent of designated bathing water spots in the water company’s region are rated ‘Good’ or ‘Excellent’.

Much of the initial work will be focused on extensive, holistic investigations – known as source apportionment studies – at some of the East of England’s newest designated bathing spots, many of them inland. To identify what investment is needed to improve water quality at each bathing water, Anglian Water will carry out studies at:

• Sheep’s Green, on the River Cam in Cambridgeshire
• Woodbridge, on the River Deben in Suffolk
• Manningtree, on the River Stour in Suffolk
• Sudbury, on the River Stour in Suffolk
• All six designated bathing water spots in Great Yarmouth, Norfolk

Many factors can impact bathing water quality, including agriculture, tides, and ecological factors such as algal blooms, as well as water industry operations. These source apportionment studies will examine these factors at each site, helping to identify which are contributing to water quality standards in the area. These studies will allow Anglian Water to target investment confidently and install solutions like UV treatment on its own assets to help improve bathing water quality in the places where it will make the most difference.

Each study is set to finish by 2027, allowing time for Anglian Water to begin work on any investment needed by the end of the decade.

Adam Worley, Strategic Recreational Water Quality Manager for Anglian Water, said: “We know that our region’s extensive coastline is hugely important to our customers, as well as being a vital part of our tourism economy. We’re really proud that the East of England is already home to some of the country’s cleanest beaches and inland swimming spots, with more than 90 per cent of designated bathing waters in our region rated ‘Good’ or ‘Excellent’.

“There are lots of factors that can impact bathing water quality – not just our operations, but also agricultural, industrial and ecological factors, too. But we know we have an important role to play in supporting tourism and residents’ enjoyment of our region’s coastline, and we’re committed to working with other agencies to ensure all our region’s bathing spots are brought up to at least ‘Good’ status. That’s why we’ve set aside this funding between now and 2030 to improve our bathing water quality even further.”

In addition, the water company has already committed to storm spill reduction schemes in Cleethorpes, Mundesley, Hunstanton and Southend, which will also be completed by 2027. This will include work to build storm tanks, reduce flows into the sewer network, and optimise existing network capacity. Increasing storage capacity and reducing the amount of water entering the sewer network will relieve pressure on treatment works, meaning sites will be better equipped to manage increasingly frequent extreme weather without discharging from storm overflows.