SEVEN bathing sites in Somerset, including one in Taunton, have failed water quality testing.

The River Tone at French Weir Park in Taunton, Dunster Beach, and Blue Anchor West, were among the sites rated “poor” this year, new data from the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) revealed.

The new figures show one in 12 English bathing waters failed water quality testing, around 8 per cent of all those monitored.

They account for 4.5 per cent of beaches, rivers and lakes that were already designated as official bathing sites before the 2024 season, and 18 of the 27 sites newly designated this year (67 per cent), which had not been previously sampled or managed as bathing waters.

The Taunton site achieved bathing site status in May, meaning the Environment Agency could immediately start monitoring the water quality.

The current MP for Taunton and Wellington Gideon Amos, along with the Friends of French Weir Park, supported the application.

In September, the EA investigated a potential case of oil or fuel pollution at the site and issued advice against bathing.

The Somerset County Gazette contacted the EA and MP Gideon Amos for comments.

Here are all the bathing waters sites in Somerset that failed the quality testing:

  • Dunster Beach,
  • Blue Anchor West, 
  • River Tone at French Weir Park, (new designation)
  • Weston-super-Mare Uphill Slipway,  
  • Weston Main
  • Weston-super-Mare Sand Bay,
  • River Frome at Farleigh Hungerford, (new designation)