 The quality of bathing water was measured |
A record number of Scottish beaches have been included in this year's Good Beach Guide. The figure recommended in the guide, produced by the Marine Conservation Society (MCS), rose from 32 to 56 due to a rise in bathing water quality.
Scottish Water welcomed the news as evidence of the improvements being made in dealing with sewage pollution.
But the report said that Ayrshire in particular still suffers from relatively poor water quality.
Water quality standard
It said there is wide scope for upgrading continuous sewage discharges.
Diffuse pollution remains a problem, particularly in the south west, it said.
MCS will only recommend beaches in the Good Beach Guide if they meet the guideline European water quality standard and are not affected by inadequately treated sewage.
Ongoing improvements in sewage treatment, strategies to tackle diffuse pollution such as agricultural run-off and the exceptional weather last summer, all contributed to the vast improvement in Scotland.
The MCS Good Beach Guide is the only beach 'award' initiative that focuses entirely on water quality standards and the risk of sewage pollution, rather than beach management.
One-Minute World News 
News services
E-mail this to a friend 
Printable version 