Is the sea water quality good in East Suffolk?

East Suffolk has a Gera Bathing Water Score of 92/100 (4 of 7 rated sites Excellent, 0 Poor) for the 2025 season. A GBWS of 92 reflects a combination of current classification (weighted 60%) and multi-season consistency across all assessed seasons, up to six from 2019–2025 (weighted 40%). This is a high score, indicating consistently good water quality across the area.

What does the Gera Bathing Water Score mean?

The Gera Bathing Water Score (GBWS) combines two components from Environment Agency rBWD annual compliance classifications (key-free open data, OGL v3.0): (1) latest classification score (Excellent=100, Good=75, Sufficient=50, Poor=25), weighted 0.6; and (2) pass-rate across every assessed season available for the site (up to six: 2019, 2021–2025; the proportion rated Sufficient or above), weighted 0.4. Formula: GBWS = round(0.6 × latest_score + 0.4 × pass_rate × 100). Sites with fewer than 3 assessed seasons are shown as 'insufficient data'. The 2020 bathing season was cancelled due to COVID-19 and is excluded. LA-level scores are the mean GBWS of all sites within the LA that have sufficient data. Source: EA BWQ API, seasons 2019, 2021–2025.

How are East Suffolk bathing waters classified?

The Environment Agency classifies each designated bathing water under the Revised Bathing Water Directive (rBWD): Excellent, Good, Sufficient, or Poor, based on 4 seasons of E. coli and intestinal enterococci samples. East Suffolk has 7 designated site(s). Annual classifications are published on the EA's Bathing Water Quality platform.

When is the bathing season?

The official bathing season in England runs from mid-May to the end of September each year. The EA monitors water quality weekly during the season. Outside the season, monitoring is not required and advisories may not be current.

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East Suffolk — Bathing Water Quality 2025

Gera Bathing Water Score: 92/100

What is the bathing water quality in East Suffolk?

East Suffolk has a Gera Bathing Water Score of 92/100 for the 2025 bathing season, based on 7 EA-rated sites: 4 Excellent, 3 Good, 0 Sufficient, 0 Poor. Source: Environment Agency Bathing Water Quality API (OGL v3.0). Gera re-dates this annually.

Source:Environment Agency — Bathing Water Quality API·as of bathing season 2025 (latest completed season)updated annually (last: 20 June 2026)

Gera Bathing Water Score92 / 100Ranked 33 of 68 local authorities. 4 Excellent, 0 Poor (2025 season).How this index is calculated

Bathing water sites in East Suffolk

EA bathing water classifications — East Suffolk, 2025 season
Site	Type	2025 rating	GBWS	Seasons
Felixstowe North	Coastal	Excellent	100/100	6
Felixstowe South	Coastal	Excellent	100/100	6
Southwold The Denes	Coastal	Excellent	100/100	6
Southwold The Pier	Coastal	Excellent	100/100	6
Lowestoft (North of Claremont Pier)	Coastal	Good	85/100	6
Lowestoft (South of Claremont Pier)	Coastal	Good	85/100	6
River Deben Estuary, Waldringfield	Coastal	Good	72/100	3

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Compare bathing water quality across local authorities

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Pick a local authority to see its Gera Bathing Water Score and all rated sites.

Local authority

92/100

GBWS

Gera Bathing Water Score

33 / 68

Rank

vs other LAs

Total sites

designated bathing waters

Excellent

Good

Sufficient

Poor

Rated sites (GBWS order)

Felixstowe NorthExcellent · 100
Felixstowe SouthExcellent · 100
Southwold The DenesExcellent · 100
Southwold The PierExcellent · 100
Lowestoft (North of Claremont Pier)Good · 85
Lowestoft (South of Claremont Pier)Good · 85
River Deben Estuary, WaldringfieldGood · 72

Full report for East Suffolk →

East Suffolk bathing water — FAQ

Is the sea water quality good in East Suffolk?: East Suffolk has a Gera Bathing Water Score of 92/100 (4 of 7 rated sites Excellent, 0 Poor) for the 2025 season. A GBWS of 92 reflects a combination of current classification (weighted 60%) and multi-season consistency across all assessed seasons, up to six from 2019–2025 (weighted 40%). This is a high score, indicating consistently good water quality across the area.
What does the Gera Bathing Water Score mean?: The Gera Bathing Water Score (GBWS) combines two components from Environment Agency rBWD annual compliance classifications (key-free open data, OGL v3.0): (1) latest classification score (Excellent=100, Good=75, Sufficient=50, Poor=25), weighted 0.6; and (2) pass-rate across every assessed season available for the site (up to six: 2019, 2021–2025; the proportion rated Sufficient or above), weighted 0.4. Formula: GBWS = round(0.6 × latest_score + 0.4 × pass_rate × 100). Sites with fewer than 3 assessed seasons are shown as 'insufficient data'. The 2020 bathing season was cancelled due to COVID-19 and is excluded. LA-level scores are the mean GBWS of all sites within the LA that have sufficient data. Source: EA BWQ API, seasons 2019, 2021–2025.
How are East Suffolk bathing waters classified?: The Environment Agency classifies each designated bathing water under the Revised Bathing Water Directive (rBWD): Excellent, Good, Sufficient, or Poor, based on 4 seasons of E. coli and intestinal enterococci samples. East Suffolk has 7 designated site(s). Annual classifications are published on the EA's Bathing Water Quality platform.
When is the bathing season?: The official bathing season in England runs from mid-May to the end of September each year. The EA monitors water quality weekly during the season. Outside the season, monitoring is not required and advisories may not be current.

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Individual sites in East Suffolk

Felixstowe North— Excellent (GBWS 100)
Felixstowe South— Excellent (GBWS 100)
Lowestoft (North of Claremont Pier)— Good (GBWS 85)
Lowestoft (South of Claremont Pier)— Good (GBWS 85)
River Deben Estuary, Waldringfield— Good (GBWS 72)
Southwold The Denes— Excellent (GBWS 100)
Southwold The Pier— Excellent (GBWS 100)

Contains public sector information published by Environment Agency and licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Source: Environment Agency — Bathing Water Quality API (bathing season 2025 (latest completed season), published 2026 (annual publication)).