Is the sea water quality good in South Hams?

South Hams has a Gera Bathing Water Score of 96/100 (15 of 17 rated sites Excellent, 3 Poor) for the 2025 season. A GBWS of 96 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 South Hams 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. South Hams has 22 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.

GeraHome / Bathing Water Quality / South Hams

South Hams — Bathing Water Quality 2025

Gera Bathing Water Score: 96/100

What is the bathing water quality in South Hams?

South Hams has a Gera Bathing Water Score of 96/100 for the 2025 bathing season, based on 17 EA-rated sites: 15 Excellent, 4 Good, 0 Sufficient, 3 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 Score96 / 100Ranked 25 of 68 local authorities. 15 Excellent, 3 Poor (2025 season).How this index is calculated

Bathing water sites in South Hams

EA bathing water classifications — South Hams, 2025 season
Site	Type	2025 rating	GBWS	Seasons
Bantham	Coastal	Excellent	100/100	6
Bigbury-on-Sea North	Coastal	Excellent	100/100	6
Bigbury-on-Sea South	Coastal	Excellent	100/100	6
Blackpool Sands	Coastal	Excellent	100/100	6
Bovisand	Coastal	Excellent	100/100	6
Challaborough	Coastal	Excellent	100/100	6
Dartmouth Castle Cove	Coastal	Excellent	100/100	6
Mill Bay	Coastal	Excellent	100/100	6
Salcombe South Sands	Coastal	Excellent	100/100	6
Slapton Sands Monument	Coastal	Excellent	100/100	6
Slapton Sands Torcross	Coastal	Excellent	100/100	6
Thurlestone North	Coastal	Excellent	100/100	6
Thurlestone South	Coastal	Excellent	100/100	6
Hope Cove	Coastal	Good	85/100	6
Mothecombe	Coastal	Good	85/100	6
Salcombe North Sands	Coastal	Good	85/100	6
Wembury	Coastal	Good	85/100	6

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South Hams bathing water — FAQ

Is the sea water quality good in South Hams?: South Hams has a Gera Bathing Water Score of 96/100 (15 of 17 rated sites Excellent, 3 Poor) for the 2025 season. A GBWS of 96 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 South Hams 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. South Hams has 22 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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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)).