A SERIES of torrential summer downpours was yesterday blamed for a rise in the number of Scottish bathing beaches which have failed to achieve the benchmark for water quality set by the European Commission.
A second successive season of near record rainfalls, which led to sewage gushing from overflows and polluted storm water pouring from farmland, combined to lower water standards around Scotland's coastline.
Today the Marine Conservation Society (
MCS) announced that it is recommending only 41 Scottish bathing beaches – three less than last year – for excellent water quality in its annual Good Beach Guide.
The number of beaches given the accolade for their water quality was just over one-third of the 109 beaches which were tested around the coastline.
The only slightly positive note recorded by the MCS was a slight fall – from 18 to 17 – in the number of beaches failing to reach even the minimum legal standard for water quality.
The beaches that failed to meet the basic standards included Edinburgh's two at Portobello, along with St Andrews' West Sands and Aberdeen's main tourist beach.
Those which have been awarded the top accolade include Yellowcraig and Longniddry in East Lothian, Broughty Ferry beach at Dundee – awarded only a basic pass the previous year – Arbroath's west links and Embo beach in the Highlands.
Calum Duncan, the MCS Scottish conservation manager, said the figures reflected a steady decline in water quality since 2004 when the society recommended 56 of Scotland's beaches for their excellent water quality.
"Last summer was one of the wettest summers on record, similar to the previous couple of years, and what you then have are the sewage systems overflowing and more run off from fields," he said.
Urban areas and parts of the country where the agriculture industry was flourishing had been hardest hit.
Mr Duncan said: "MCS has been saying for years that climate change is likely to increase storm pollution round Scotland's coast.
"More needs to be done to deal with our waste water and we need to continue to work with farmers on counter pollution measures, so that rain water is managed on farms to minimise the amount of slurry being washed into burns."
Helen Lennox, Scottish Water's head of corporate affairs, said: "Poor quality samples at bathing beaches do not automatically indicate a problem with a Scottish Water asset. Water quality, particularly during such conditions, can be affected by farmland and general surface water run off.
"There will always be weather conditions that have a detrimental impact on bathing water quality."
