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CARRICK AND MOSSYARD HAVE BOTH BEEN GIVEN AN 'EXCELLENT' RATING - AN IMPROVEMENT FROM THEIR 'GOOD' STATUS IN 2024. 08:17, 03 Jun 2025Updated 08:29, 03 Jun 2025 Two
Dumfries and Galloway beaches have been given top marks for bathing water quality. Carrick and Mossyard have both been given an “excellent” rating from the Scottish Environmental Protection
Agency (SEPA) – an improvement from “good” last year. Brighouse Bay, Rockcliffe, Sandyhills and Southerness have once again been rated as “good” with Dhoon Bay near Kirkcudbright given a
“sufficient” grading. The bathing water season began on Sunday, with grades based on regular sampling to test water quality. The current system has been in place since a revised bathing
water directive was introduced a decade ago. SEPA’s principal scientist for bathing waters, Ruth Stidson, said: “Scotland’s bathing waters are a vital part of our natural environment –
important for health, wellbeing, tourism and community pride. READ MORE: Kirkcudbright care home resident celebrates 100th birthday with his familyREAD MORE: Shoppers at Dumfries supermarket
could be hit with £70 fine for breaking new parking rules A decade on from the revised directive, we’re seeing more sites rated excellent than ever before, 56 per cent today compared to 20
per cent in 2015. Article continues below “This improvement is a real testament to partnerships with local authorities and stakeholders, including communities, to protect our water
environment, and targeted investment by Scottish Water, farmers and land managers to reduce pollution.” There are 89 designated bathing water sites in Scotland, 50 of which received an
“excellent” rating. Acting Net Zero Secretary Gillian Martin said: “I am pleased to see a record number of Scotland’s bathing waters rated as ‘excellent’ this year. This is testament to our
continued investment in protecting and improving bathing waters across the country and targeted work in priority catchments. “We want to make sure that as many people as possible can enjoy
our bathing waters, which is why we continue to work closely with SEPA, Scottish Water and other public partners to protect and improve water quality. Click here for more news and sport from
Dumfries and Galloway. “We encourage everyone to make use of SEPA’s resources and information to help make an informed decision about where and when to bathe.” Article continues below
Issues that can affect bathing water quality include heavy rainfall washing pollution from fields and streets into watercourses, and combined sewer overflows releasing untreated water. Ruth
Stidson added: “Scotland’s bathing waters are designated for bathing, but wild swimming is increasingly popular across Scotland. When picking a wild swimming spot, risks of illness due to
poor water quality can be reduced by selecting locations where there are no local warnings in place advising against swimming. “Avoid bathing on higher risk days which follow heavy rainfall
and in water with blue-green algal blooms or scums. It’s also best to avoid swimming close to known inputs, including watercourses, as these can be sources of pollution. Generally, risks
tend to be higher in urban areas or where livestock farming occurs within the catchment as these are the key sources of bacteria for most bathing waters.”