Rainfall blamed for dip in quality of Scotland's beaches By FRANK URQUHART Published on Thursday 3 May 2012 01:39 TORRENTIAL summer rain has played havoc with Scotland's drive to improve the water quality of its main holiday beaches. Last year's increased surface water run-off from farms and urban areas, following intense rainfall, has meant that Scotland is the only country or region in the UK to be hit by a sharp fall in the number of beaches now being recommended for excellent bathing water quality. Read the Marine Conservation Society report in full While the UK as a whole recorded its best year on record for bathing water quality, the Good Beach Guide, newly published by the Marine Conservation Society (MCS), reveals that just 45 of the 110 beaches tested in Scotland hit the quality benchmark - only 41 per cent of the total. The previous year, 46 per cent of Scotland's beaches secured a place on the list. Only 39 per cent made the list two years ago. Calum Duncan, the MCS's Scotland programme manager, said last year's above-average rainfall in many areas had been a major factor in the unwelcome drop in approved beaches. He said: "Intense rainfall increases surface water run-off, which contains livestock waste and dog faeces from farmland and city streets, and can cause untreated sewage to discharge from combined sewer overflows (CSOs) - both of which can have public health implications for Scotland's coastal waters. It's always a shame when wet weather hits Scotland's beaches. In areas where there is wetter weather and with diffuse pollution sources in terms of agricultural run-off, and on occasion urban run-off, it can lead to some sample failures throughout the season. Mr Duncan added: "We very much welcome and value the billions of pounds that have been invested over the last ten years or more to improve sewage treatment. If that hadn't happened, we would be looking at considerably fewer beaches being recommended. But, as some of the known sources of pollution have been removed through the improvement in sewage infrastructure, we are still seeing some sample failures. It is an ongoing issue to find out the sources of diffuse emissions. He said there were increasing concerns about the potential impact of CSOs - overflow pipes which can feed into burns and coastal waters when there is heavy rain. "Obviously nobody wants the sewage backing up into the street or people's homes," said Mr Duncan. But our question is: do we know enough about the CSOs to identify where the problem overflows are and fix them? We need to know where these CSOs are, how often they are discharging and what they are discharging. Because unless we get a picture of that, I think it is difficult to target the upgrades required to those CSOs. Overall, the number of UK beaches recommended for excellent bathing water quality is the highest in the guide's 25-year history. Last summer, 516 out of 754 (68 per cent) beaches tested reached the required standard - 8 per cent more than the previous year. In England as a whole, 74 per cent of beaches met the standard, with 80 per cent in Wales, and 67 per cent in Northern Ireland. Rachel Wyatt, the MCS coastal pollution officer, said the latest UK figures would be a boost for tourism. But she warned there was no reason for complacency. Mark Williams, Scottish Water's environmental regulation manager, said: "We are committed to ongoing investment to ensure our assets continue to support Scottish bathing water quality."