Hundreds of communities living near rivers are missing out on getting access to bathing spots due to complex rules that exclude the areas most polluted by sewage, campaigners have warned.
The Government has announced 13 new outdoor swim spots at beaches and rivers in England as the official bathing season starts today.
Gaining bathing status for a stretch of river unlocks greater investment from water companies and means that the Environment Agency must regularly test the water quality at the site.
In recent years, there has been a concerted campaign by groups across the country to gain bathing status for rivers as part of efforts to clean-up England’s waterways.
Hundreds of rivers sites being blocked
There are over 450 bathing sites in England, but until 2020 none of these were on rivers.
There are now almost 20 river bathing spots and The i Paper has been calling for 100 spots to be introduced as part of its Save Britain’s Rivers campaign.
But the campaign group Surfers Against Sewage has warned that recent changes to the rules are making it harder for local groups to apply.
This includes rules that state a community must show at least 100 swimmers using the site on a single day to get status, however they are not allowed to count other water users such as kayakers and paddle boarders.
Ministers have also changed the rules so that new bathing sites need to pass a “feasibility test” that will see them rejected if they do not have a realistic chance of passing water quality tests in the future.
Surfers Against Sewage said this excludes sites that are heavily polluted by sewage and are deemed “too expensive” to clean up.
The charity has launched a judicial review against the new rules as they say the Government is putting public health at risk for failing to test at areas where it knows people are swimming anyway.
The 13 new bathing spots in England
The Government has confirmed that the following sites will becoming official bathing spots, which means they will be monitored for water pollution between May and September each year:
Little Shore, Amble, Northumberland Newton and Noss Creeks, Devon Canvey Island Foreshore, Essex Sandgate Granville Parade Beach, Kent Queen Elizabeth Gardens Salisbury, Wiltshire East Beach at West Bay, Bridport, Dorset. Pangbourne Meadow, Berkshire River Fowey in Lostwithiel, Cornwall River Swale in Richmond, Yorkshire Falcon Meadow, Bungay, Suffolk River Thames at Ham and Kingston, Greater London New Brighton Beach (East), Merseyside River Dee at Sandy LaneLast summer, the Environment Agency published research that identified almost 3,500 “water recreation” spots across the country used for activities including swimming, paddle boarding and rowing.
Over 1,500 of these sites were on rivers and canals, showing the extent to which England’s inland waterways are used for swimming and paddle sports at ‘unofficial’ spots.
“Defra are seeing the volume of people using the waterways and they’re still happy to ignore designating new bathing waters because the water quality is too poor or too expensive to fix,” said Kirsty Davis, Community Water Quality Manager at SAS.
She said SAS has been working with communities in areas such as Windsor and Henley-on-Thames who have been unable to obtain bathing status due to the 100 swimmer rule.
‘We want it clean’
A group of residents and councillors in Southampton want to apply for bathing water status for a site on the River Itchen, but say the rules are making it impossible.
The site around Cobden Bridge is near a sewage treatment works and as a result is heavily polluted with E.coli.
“Years ago lots of people swam in the estuary,” said Gavin Millar from Friends of the Itchen Estuary.
However, there has been a “noticeable decline” since the public became aware of the levels of E.coli in the river, he said.
“We’re in this Catch 22 situation of people wanting to swim in the river, but not swimming in the river because they know this is polluted, and therefore we can’t get bathing water status,” he said.
“There’s lots of people that would like swim in the river. It’s Southampton’s largest open space. It has huge importance not just for recreation, but mental and physical well-being and nature.”
Millar said there’s four rowing clubs, two canoe clubs and a boat club with kayaking and sailing that use the stretch of river.
He said he’s heard many examples of these people getting sick after entering the water.
Southern Water is investing in improving the local sewage treatment plant, but getting bathing water status would unlock more funding and speed up the process, according to Councillor John Savage.
“We want it to be clean and we want it in a shorter timescale than they’re looking at the moment,” he said, adding that it could take 20 years until the site was clean enough to swim in at the current rate.
A Defra spokesperson said: “We are reforming regulations to prioritise public health and better reflect how people actually use their local waters.
“Anyone can apply to designate a bathing water. We welcome and receive applications from individuals, community organisations and Local Authorities, as these are the people who will know which popular bathing areas may be suitable.”
Hence then, the article about rivers missing out on stronger sewage testing because they re too filthy was published today ( ) and is available on inews ( Middle East ) The editorial team at PressBee has edited and verified it, and it may have been modified, fully republished, or quoted. You can read and follow the updates of this news or article from its original source.
Read More Details
Finally We wish PressBee provided you with enough information of ( Rivers missing out on stronger sewage testing – because they’re too filthy )
Also on site :
- Isomer's Brightening Anti-Aging Duo Is Perfect for Women Over 50, and Shoppers Confirm It's 'So Good'
- President Trump Buys DraftKings, Red Rock, Sells Other Gaming Stocks
- Eurovision braces for new protests over Israel’s participation