Britain’s only designated river bathing spot is so polluted that it’s not safe to swim

Britain’s only designated bathing river has been classified as “poor” by the Environment Agency because of high levels of bacteria.

Locals have been advised not to take a dip at the river Wharfe, a popular swimming spot in Ilkley, Yorkshire, after tests revealed it had unacceptably high levels of contamination over the summer.

The findings confirm previous tests carried out by community groups who have criticised water companies and the Environment Agency for failing to keep the river clean.

Tests showed levels of E. Coli and enterococci, another type of bacteria, regularly breached acceptable levels for bathing waters last year.

Upstream of the bathing site there is a combined sewer overflow and a sewage pumping station, and agency investigations also found that three nearby rainwater drains were not correctly connected to the sewage system, leading to increased pollution in the river.

Pollution from sewage and agriculture

Testing suggested the bacteria was coming from a mixture of human and animal sources, suggesting pollution from sewage and from agriculture.

A report by campaigners recently found that children missed school for sickness after swimming in the Wharfe in 2018.

Last year John Leyland, the Environment Agency’s chief of staff, said rivers were “not there for human swimming” despite the rising popularity of wild swimming.

Campaigners have pushed for more rivers to be made designated bathing sites to pressure agencies and water companies to clean them up.

The Ilkley Clean River Campaign said: “We continue to challenge the orthodoxy that no-one should be enjoying the riverbank and river with their children in the summer.

“In cleaning up the river for people, we also aim to prevent the use of the Wharfe as an open sewer and return it to being a thriving habitat for wildlife.”

Overall improvement of water quality

The data were released as part of the Environment Agency’s annual update on bathing water status, which showed an overall improvement, with 99 per cent of sites passing water quality tests, up from 98.3 per cent in 2019.

The Wharfe is the UK’s only official river bathing site after being classified in 2020, with all others found in lakes or coastal areas.

Yorkshire Water, a local sewage company, insisted that the poor state of the river was partly down to other pollution sources including farming and runoff.

Ben Roche, the director of wastewater at Yorkshire Water, said: “We have outlined up to £13m investment in our network that will help to reduce discharges into the river during prolonged spells of rain and reduce the impact of treated effluent being returned to the environment.

“This funding is over and above existing investment plans for the current five-year period.

“While our investment will help improve water quality, it alone will not guarantee an improvement in the bathing water classification.”