It's no secret that some of Wales' beaches are known for being among the best in the world and this has been further proven with 85 of them getting a top mark from Natural Resources Wales for their water quality. The watchdog conducts annual testing during the summer months and compares findings against EU standards.
And this year's results show that 85 beaches received the top mark of 'excellent', which is up from 2021. Of the 106 designated bathing water sites that water quality samples were taken from during the 2022 bathing season just one – Marine Lake in Rhyl, an artificial lake used mainly for water sports – is the only site to be classified as poor.
Categorised as either ‘Excellent’, ‘Good’, ‘Sufficient’, or ‘Poor’, 85 of the 106 water bodies assessed across Wales achieved the top grade. That means that all 22 Blue Flag Award beaches can apply to retain their status for the 2023 bathing season with Aberporth, Llandonna, and Nolton Haven beaches also achieving an ‘excellent’ classification – an improvement on last year’s results.
