Bathing Water Improvement Decision Support Tool

A decision-support tool to help practitioners work towards improving Bathing Water quality in the North West. Produced by Ribble Rivers Trust on behalf of the Turning Tides Collaborative. 

Funding from the 3Cs allowed the tool to be extended from it's initial reach of the Fylde Coast down to Merseyside. Mersey Rivers Trust worked with the team to bring in additional data sources covering the area. The outputs will be used by the Mersey Estuary & Coastal Partnership to engage with communities about the likely sources of pollution and to prioritise future projects to improve water quality.

Turning Tides is a partnership of local organisations that work in collaboration to improve and unlock the potential of the North West River Basin District’s Bathing Waters and beaches. Turning Tides aims to inspire and change perceptions and values of key decision makers, the media, politicians, the private sector and the wider community; collaboratively striving for compliance and prevention of deterioration at priority coastal designated Bathing Waters, raising their quality and use.

The project is using an evidence-based approach to stimulate direct action that focuses on improving and safeguarding bathing water quality in the Bathing Waters that are currently in poor or sufficient (i.e. the minimum acceptable) condition, and elevate them to 'Blue Flag' status.

This decision support tool was created on behalf of the Turning Tides Partnership, but can be used by anyone striving to improve the North West's Bathing Waters.