With warmer and sunnier days finally creeping in, many of us will likely plan to take a trip to one of the region's beaches in the near future.
Merseyside has some great coastal spots, with Formby in particular being frequently recognised as one of the best beaches in the country. But before you pack your Speedos, it's worth doing a little research to make sure you know where to find the cleanest beaches for swimming.
In April, the most polluted beaches in England were revealed after relentless sewage dumping by water companies. People were warned of a number of beaches to avoid.
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It comes after coastlines have been left in a sorry state, and to make matters worse new rules to permit sewage to be dumped into rivers for 15 more years were voted through by an overwhelming majority of Tory MPs earlier this year.
Thankfully, none of Merseyside's beaches made the list of those to avoid, with Blackpool North being our nearest where bathing is not advised.
How do you know if the water is clean?
The Environment Agency collects water quality data each year from May to September, to ensure that designated bathing water sites on the coast and inland are safe and clean for swimming and other activities.
A classification for each bathing water site is calculated annually. These, best to worst, are "excellent", "good", "sufficient" or "poor". If a beach is poor, it is to be avoided for safety reasons.
How clean are our region's beaches?
Formby, West Kirby, Meols, Wallasey, and Moreton are said to be the cleanest, with minimal litter or pollution. Ainsdale is classed as good, while Southport is said to be sufficient.
These are the only two beaches in the region that suffer from short term pollution - which is when heavy rainfall washes faecal matter into the sea, be it from livestock, sewage or urban drainage.
The Environment Agency makes daily pollution risk forecasts based on rainfall patterns and will issue a pollution risk warning to enable bathers to avoid the water. Last year there were eight days where warnings advising against swimming at Southport were issued, and one day for Ainsdale.
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