Transcription of infographic entitled Rivers and Bathing Water in North West England with Turning Tides logo in top left.

There is a map of England with 4 areas highlighted:

Area 1: Cumbria

Known for its Special Areas of Conservation and Sites of Scientific Interest, the river environment in Cumbria suffers from flood risk, remnants of the mining industry and pressures from tourism. Through Natural Course and the Turning Tides partnership. LOVEmyBEACH hosts a co-ordinator at Morecambe Bay and Cumbria to focus on reducing septic tank spills to improve priority bathing waters in Haverigg and Allonby.

Area 2: Lancashire

Challenges that Lancashire catchments (Lune, Wyre and Ribble) face included diffuse pollution from urban sources and agriculture, modified channels and invasive species. LOVEmyBEACH hosts a coordinator for the Fylde peninsular who works in the community to help improve bathing water quality; developing volunteers beach clean groups and increasing awareness on the contributing factors.

Area 3: Greater Manchester

The river catchment that runs through Greater Manchester picks up diffuse pollution from urban and rural sources along the way, which eventually flow out to bathing waters in Merseyside, Lancashire and Cheshire. The Irwell catchment is a priority area for natural Course.

Area 4: Merseyside & Cheshire

A mix of urban and rural landscapes makes the Merseyside catchments particularly challenging, despite this, the bathing waters are the cleanest in the North West! Turning Tides and Natural Course are working to protect these areas and further improve the water quality of the rivers at source.