Yes! You can swim in rivers
Mainstream news coverage of sewage pollution is designed to attract attention. Rivers can be polluted but that doesn’t mean we can’t swim. We just have to know where and when.
You might have seen the latest news about water pollution following the launch of this new sewage map.
With headlines like ‘What’s the most polluted place to swim in the UK?’ from Channel4 News, the coverage painted a grim picture of our rivers. Reporting that ‘three-quarters of all UK rivers pose a serious risk to human health. And people who regularly swim or bodyboard in the UK are three times more likely to have antibiotic-resistant bacteria in their guts,’ this sort of coverage is enough to put anyone off swimming in rivers.
However, this coverage doesn’t fully evaluate the risks of swimming outdoors in the UK. And, while we’re delighted that the campaign for cleaner water has hit the mainstream, we’re concerned it will stop people from swimming in our rivers.
Tracking raw sewage spills
A few months ago, water companies made their live spill data available, and The Rivers Trust incorporated this data into its Sewage Map.
Surfers Against Sewage also shows this real-time data on sewage discharges into rivers and beaches across England, Scotland and Wales on its map. And its Data HQ shows historical sewage spill data as well.
So, what’s different about the new sewage map? It shows the same live sewage spills, but it tracks their flow downstream. The idea is that people can use this real time mapping to understand the downstream impact of Combined Sewage Overflow (CSO) discharges rather than just at the spots where the discharges happen.
However, it can’t predict how safe that river will be for swimming, as Tessa Wardley, Director of Communications and Advocacy at The Rivers Trust explains.
“It’s impossible to know how much a storm overflow will impact a river in terms of how ‘safe’ it is to swim in, and even less possible to know from this data how far downstream a river will be ‘safe’ or not,” she says. “This is because the proportion of untreated sewage in a storm overflow discharge is unknown. In addition, if high rainfall has caused a storm overflow to spill, then there will also be significantly more water running off the land and roads, likely carrying other pollutants including heavy metals, chemicals and faecal contaminants from domestic animals and livestock.”
Is it safe to swim?
This makes it very hard to predict the safety of water in our rivers, as our founder and Thames swimmer Simon Griffiths reported in this article.
“In an ideal world, we’d have a device like a thermometer we could stick in the water that would show a green light if it was safe to swim,” he said. “I don’t advocate taking unnecessary risks with sewage pollution. I am selective about when and where I swim. But this requires making decisions with imperfect information and tolerating a degree of uncertainty.”
While the data in these sewage maps is useful, outdoor swimmers also need to be able to risk assess swim spots. That includes assessing risks such as water temperature, safe access points, flows and currents and debris in the water – and being aware of the potential health risks from pollution.
Yes, check a sewage map, but also look for visual signs of pollution including bad smells, dirty water and litter or waste. Another sensible precaution is to not swim after heavy rainfall.
“Monitoring that we have undertaken indicates that by avoiding swimming directly downstream of storm overflows or within 48 hours of rainfall, the risk of sewage contamination is significantly reduced,” says Tessa. “This is especially true if the weather has been sunny and the UV light has helped to kill off the bacteria.”
Why we should swim
Ultimately, we believe that the huge benefits to our health of swimming outdoors outweigh the risks.
“Open water swimming may lead to improvements in mood and wellbeing, reductions in mental distress symptomatology, and was experienced as a positive, enriching process for many,” reported researches from the University of Bath in the Journal for Environmental Psychology. “Blue spaces involve embodiment, mindful presence, community and much more, offering for some a therapeutic accretion which sustains mental health and wellbeing across a lifetime.”
But the benefits aren’t just ours to enjoy. The communities that enjoy rivers and beaches are more inclined to fight for them – as shown in the film Rave on for the Avon.
“Our aim is to create a comprehensive UK-wide map that provides users with the fullest possible picture of the dire state of our waterways, to empower communities and equip Ocean Activists with the knowledge and numbers to drive change,” says Sam Nichols, Water Quality App Manager at Surfers Against Sewage. “Joining our Citizen Science Programme to monitor water quality year-round, logging sickness reports via our sewage alert app, or simply inputting how you enjoy the UK’s blue spaces will help us maximize the platform and supercharge the fight for clean waterways.”
In the fight against water pollution, we are needed more than ever. So, don’t let the headlines put you off from swimming outdoors. If you are still uncertain, swim with your head up, shower after you swim but keep enjoying our rivers and waterways – they need us as much as we need them.
Main image: Swimmers from the social prescribing organisation Open Minds Active enjoy swimming in the River Avon. Still from the film Rave on for the Avon.
