Formby beach has been rated Excellent which is the highest, cleanest class for its bathing waters

For the fourth year in a row Formby beach is rated as Excellent 2017 by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) who have published statistics that reveal that all 31 of the North West’s bathing waters meet the government’s required standards for water quality.

Formby bathing water is a large, sandy beach with extensive sand dunes between the beach and Formby town. There are multiple access points to the beach via boardwalks across the dunes. The beach has a shallow profile that increasingly drops off towards the sea.

The 2017 classifications of bathing waters in Sefton are;

• Formby beach has been rated Excellent – the highest, cleanest class;

• Southport and Ainsdale have been rated Good – generally good water quality.

Standards have remained high following last year’s record results which showed bathing waters were the cleanest since records began.

98.3 per cent of bathing waters tested at over 400 beaches and lakes up and down the country passed tough standards this year, following 98.5 per cent last year.

There have been huge strides made since the early 1990s, when just 28 per cent of bathing waters met the top water quality standards that were in force then; now 92 per cent are rated excellent or good.

Environment Secretary Michael Gove said: "We want all bathing waters to enjoy the high quality which the 146 million visitors to Britain’s beaches every year expect and we will keep working with partners to drive up standards."

"Not only does our iconic coastline generate over £3.6 billion for the economy, it is a valuable part of our natural environment and we will uphold these bathing water standards as part of our plans to deliver a Green Brexit."

Sir James Bevan, Chief Executive of the Environment Agency said: "Maintaining such high water quality standards at English beaches is a huge success and a credit to all those individuals and organisations working hard to keep our bathing waters clean. Water quality has improved significantly over the last two decades - but to protect and enhance water quality even further we will need everyone to take the small actions that will help."

The Environment Agency continues to lead efforts to ensure bathing waters are maintained and improved further, working with partners and the public to reduce pollution.

Local action plans are in place for the waters that need improvement, involving a range of partner organisations. In 2017 the public were also able to see more advice on signs at beaches and get better information online about water quality at any bathing beach.

Full classifications can be found here: www.environment.data.gov.uk/bwq/profiles/

Formby details can be found HERE

A range of stakeholders have contributed to reducing pollution and improving the regions rivers, lakes and the sea, including the Environment Agency, United Utilities and the local community.

You can continue to help maintain, and improve, these standards by making small changes at home and at the beach:

• Only flush the 3P’s down the toilet – poo, pee and paper. Everything else goes in the bin!

• Pour cooled kitchen fats in the bin, not down the sink – it can cause blockages and sewage to overflow.

• Pick up after your dog and put it in the bin.

• Don’t feed birds at the beach and keep outdoor areas free of food waste.

• Always put litter in the bin or take it home if it’s full.