River Thames spot among 13 sites shortlisted for swimming status | Rivers

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River Thames spot among 13 sites shortlisted for swimming status | Rivers

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The first designated bathing water area on the River Thames in London has been selected from 13 new bathing areas being monitored across the country.

The River Thames at Ham, southwest London, has been selected as a new river bathing water after campaigners gathered evidence showing thousands of people use the river for swimming throughout the year.

Marlene Lawrence, the founder of Teddington Bluetits, which has more than 2,000 members, launched the bathing water app alongside her colleagues. “It would be great for the river and the many people who enjoy it,” she said. “We want bathing water status to help keep the Thames clean and it will be fantastic to designate this part of the river. »

The designation could prove difficult for Thames Water, which is trying to implement a water recycling scheme to take tens of millions of liters of water a day from the River Thames near the proposed bathing area and replace it with treated effluent from the large sewage treatment plants at Mogden, west London, to help tackle water shortages.

Marlene Lawrence, founder of Teddington Bluetits, said the designation would be “a driving force to keep the Thames clean”. Photograph: Mick Sinclair/Alamy

The company first proposed the plan in 2019 and the Environment Agency rejected it due to the expected negative environmental impact of discharging millions of liters of treated effluent into the river.

Other waterway locations shortlisted for designation as bathing water areas include an inlet just off the River Yealm in South Devon; part of the River Fowey at Lostwithiel, Cornwall; the River Dee at Sandy Lane, Chester; a sea bathing area at Little Shore, Amble, Northumberland; Pangbourne Meadow in Berkshire, which inspired the novel The Wind in the Willows; and the River Swale at Richmond, Yorkshire.

Activists began fighting for the status of river bathing waters six years ago under the EU bathing water directive. Rivers suffer from a toxic cocktail of wastewater discharges from water companies, permanent chemicals, and road and agricultural runoff.

The condition of bathing water requires more rigorous testing by the regulator, the Environment Agency, which is required to monitor the water for the presence of faecal indicator organisms. Water companies have come under pressure to reduce sewage pollution in areas designated as swimming sites.

In Ilkley, West Yorkshire, where the Wharfe became the first river to be granted bathing water status, Yorkshire Water is implementing more than £85 million to improve infrastructure to improve water quality.

Discharge seen flowing into the River Thames at Crossness sewage treatment works. Photograph: Dan Kitwood/Getty Images

Save our Swale, the local campaign group which submitted the application for the River Swale in Yorkshire, said bathers had used the river at Richmond Falls for decades but it had been polluted by several water company sewage spills due to storm overflows.

Deborah Meara, chair of Save our Swale, said: “Getting this far has required a lot of hard work from our team of volunteers, and we are grateful for all the hours, often spent in the pouring rain, sampling at our testing sites along the Swale.

“If SOS is finally successful in achieving designated bathing water status it will be a significant benefit to the community as the location is used by hundreds of people during the summer months and they deserve to swim in their local river without the risk of pollution from raw sewage.

Local communities are being invited to have their say on the proposals for the 13 sites during a six-week public consultation.

Emma Hardy, Minister for Water and Floods, said: “Rivers and beaches are at the heart of so many communities – where people come together, families create memories and swimmers of all ages feel the benefits of being outside safely. Our plans to designate new bathing water sites show how we support local ambition and recognize pride in the places that matter most to people.”

The new designations would bring the number of designated bathing water areas to 464.

Amy Fairman, head of campaigns at River Action, said: “We welcome efforts to classify more of the UK’s rivers as swimming sites, as it means they will be monitored seasonally for pollution. »

But she said the water quality at all but two of England’s 14 designated inland bathing sites was rated poor. “It’s a national embarrassment, especially as France has more than 1,200 indoor swimming sites, most of which are rated excellent.

“Until water companies are restructured to put people, nature and society before profit, agricultural pollution is properly tackled and the chemical cocktail that is choking our waterways is brought under control, our rivers will remain among the dirtiest in Europe.”

The sites under consultation are: