Swanage Central

* Guideline - the highest level of compliance required to pass the bathing water standards.
* Mandatory - a less stringent level of compliance required to pass the bathing water standards.
* Fail - more information about fails can be found here.

These standards relate to the microbiological limits set out in the EU Bathing Waters Directive (1976). 

The Marine Conservation Society’s good beach guide has information about beaches in our area, including facilities available, and the Environment Agency provides annual water quality classification and beach sampling results.

The Keep Britain Tidy group lists beaches that have Blue Flag status after scoring top marks for water quality, facilities, safety, environmental education and management.

• Information provided is based on the most significant spill events as agreed with the Environment Agency. It does not include very small spills from overflows that are a distance from a bathing beach and do not affect bathing water quality.
• This information is updated automatically following spill events.
• Heavy rainfall usually results in an increase in pollutants and micro-organisms in water courses and coastal waters which have come from many different sources. You may wish to refrain from swimming or using this area for watersports.