The number of UK bathing spots recommended for having excellent water quality in the latest Good Beach Guide has dropped by almost a sixth this year as a result of 2008's heavy rain.
The 16.5% fall is the biggest year-on-year drop in the 22-year history of the guide produced by the Marine Conservation Society (MCS).
A total of 370 UK beaches are "MCS recommended" this year out of 777 tested - with the number making the grade dipping below half for the first time since 2002.
Those that failed even the mandatory EC standards for water quality increased by almost half to 78, up from 53 the previous year.
The society put the fall in water quality standards down to the heavy rain last summer which increased pollution in the rivers and the seas.
The latest bathing water tests were carried out between May and September 2008, coinciding with the seventh wettest British summer on record.
Thomas Bell, MCS coastal pollution officer, said: "(The) results reflect last summer's heavy rain which swept waterborne pollutants like raw sewage, petro-chemicals and farm waste into rivers and the sea.
"MCS is now recommending 25% fewer beaches than three years ago and we're becoming concerned that the existing infrastructure for handling storm pollution may not be up to the job."
The organisation said it believed specific counter pollution measures, including investment in more sustainable urban drainage systems, new farming practices and expansion of the sewers system to handle storm water, was necessary in the face of changing weather patterns brought on by climate change.
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Mr Bell added that in order to avoid health risks, people should pick places to swim in the sea which had a good water quality record and stay out of the water for at least 24 hours after heavy storms and report pollution problems to the MCS.
