The Scottish Government is responsible for administering the requirements of the current Bathing Water Directive in Scotland, including setting the bathing season and identifying bathing waters. The Government is also required to transpose the requirements of the revised Directive into Scottish legislation.
SEPA, as Scotland's environmental regulator, is required by legislation to monitor and report on the water quality at each bathing water. Monitoring is carried out regularly pre and throughout the season with the results passed to the relevant bathing water operators and published on SEPA's website. SEPA also investigates potential risks to each bathing water, setting these out in pollution reduction plans which it implements in order to achieve compliance within these protected areas.
SEPA publishes an annual report on bathing water compliance.
Defra, as the lead Department in the UK Government, is responsible for not only ensuring the transposition and administration of the Bathing Water Directives in England, but that the UK as a whole complies with the Directives' requirements (through co-operation with the administrations in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland). Defra reports on UK compliance to the European Commission and is their first point of contact in issues relating to bathing waters in the UK.
The European Commission ensures that the Directives are properly implemented throughout the European Union. They also collate monitoring results from each Member State, publishing their analysis of this data in annual bathing water reports (available on the Commission's website).
Keep Scotland Beautiful are an environmental charity, core funded by the Scottish Government. Their aim is to achieve litter-free and sustainable environments. They co-ordinate a number of programmes and campaigns which have an influence on bathing waters, including the Clean Coast Scotland stakeholder forum. Clean Coast Scotland was established under Keep Scotland Beautiful's leadership to enable interested parties to work together to improve the quality and raise awareness of the Scottish coastline as a resource for the benefit of the general public and the environment through sustainable use and management. Clean Coast Scotland was also asked by Scottish Ministers to establish the Bathing Water Review Panel in 2004, to assist Ministers in determining future bathing water designations.
Keep Scotland Beautiful are also responsible for assessing and awarding two types of beach awards to Scottish beach operators, on criteria that includes bathing water quality:
- The prestigious annual Blue Flag beach award on behalf of the international Foundation for Environmental Information. This is generally attained by resort beaches. A beach awarded a Blue Flag must meet the Directive's higher guideline water quality status.
- The Seaside Award is more likely to be awarded to smaller, more rural beaches, and requires that the water quality meets the Directive's mandatory standard.