A Stewartry beach is in danger of losing its bathing water status.
Dhoon Bay near Kirkcudbright has been handed a “poor” rating for the past three seasons and last year it was the only site in Scotland to receive such a poor standard.
And with this year’s bathing water season getting under way, another poor rating would result in it losing its status, meaning advice against swimming would be put in place.
SEPA’s senior manager for environmental performance, Rob Morris, said: “We want to ensure that locals and visitors alike experience great water quality, which is why we’re working with the Scottish Government, Dumfries and Galloway Council, NFUS, Scottish Water, South of Scotland Enterprise, the community council, local residents and farmers on the solutions to the water quality issues at Dhoon Bay.
“Our aim is to see an improvement to at least ‘sufficient’ during the 2022 season.
“Continually ranked as one of the most beautiful countries in the world by Rough Guide, Scotland’s natural environment is world-renowned and provides a high motivation for people to visit. Figures from VisitScotland show that in 2019, 38 per cent of international visitors visited a Scottish beach, during their visit – and domestic tourism resulted in 2.31 million overnight trips to seaside and coastal locations and generated £448m of expenditure for the Scottish economy.”
One of the issues at Dhoon Bay has been from human sewage – and with no Scottish Water assets in the area, private systems have been the main focus for improvements.
Community councils have worked with locals to ensure that septic tanks are emptied ahead of the bathing season, with Scottish Water offering an emptying service. Support is also being offered to a local caravan park owner.
Another concern has been the increase in campervan and motorhome tourism resulting in more toilet waste to be disposed of.
The council is urging visitors to ensure their waste is disposed of appropriately and not pour chemical toilets down drains or public toilets. A disposal point is available at Kirkcudbright Swimming Pool.
And SEPA has also been working with farmers and NFU Scotland to improve water quality through face-to-face visits, workshops and information sessions.
SEPA officers will continue to work with the NFU and local farmers to promote best practice during the 2022 bathing season.
