More than 50 English beaches, including several in the West, could be deemed unfit for swimming under new European Union bathing quality standards which come into force in 2015.
They include Uphill Slipway at Weston-super-Mare, Burnham Jetty North at Burnham-on-Sea, and those at Kimmeridge and Church Cliff in Lyme Regis, both in Dorset, as well as a number in Devon and Cornwall.
Local authorities are working with water companies and the Environment Agency to try to solve the problem.
North Somerset councillor Peter Bryant said yesterday that a £26 million improvement at the town's sewage treatment works at Bleadon, opened by Weston-super-Mare MP John Penrose last week, is hoped to have sorted out the issue. It will allow more stormwater to be stored and will ensure sewage is treated to a higher standard before it is released into the estuary.
And in Lyme Regis, councillor Lorna Jenkin, chairman of the town council's tourism and economic development committee, said: "We are working with the Environment Agency, South West Water and West Dorset District Council. We are working very hard and are hopeful."
If a beach is deemed unfit for bathing it would have to carry sign to say so, but tourism bosses are calling for a flexible system because some beaches may only fail at certain times, and in certain conditions.
Under the new standards beaches will be more vulnerable to water running off farmland during severe storms, taking animal dung and silage with it. Urban run-off misconnected drains and dog fouling of beaches can all add to problems.
Malcolm Bell, the head of VisitCornwall, told the Sunday Telegraph: "We are going to face a challenge to explain that things have not got worse – it is just that the hurdle has got higher. If a beach is on the new borderline, it doesn't mean it will be borderline all the time. Sometimes it will be beautiful and other times there will be problems."
The Environment Agency said the vast majority of beaches pass current standards and there has been a massive improvement over the past 20 years, but with the tightening of regulations it is working to get as many of those beaches that would not meet the new rules up to standard.
