Three new wild swimming spots in Shropshire have today been designated as bathing waters ahead of the summer.
The new bathing waters include the River Severn in Shrewsbury and Ironbridge, and the Teme in Ludlow.
The three Shropshire locations are part of 27 new sites to be designated ahead of the 2024 bathing water season, which runs between 15 May and 30 September. The new sites will take the total number of bathing waters to 451 across England – the highest number to date.
The Environment Agency regularly monitors water quality at designated bathing water sites and assesses whether action is needed to cut pollution levels – working with local communities, farmers, and water companies to improve water quality at these locations.
The government will also launch a consultation later this year on proposals to reform the Bathing Water Regulations for England. The proposed changes will drive work to improve bathing water quality, enhance monitoring and enable more flexibility around the dates of the bathing water monitoring season. For example, proposals will include increasing monitoring outside of the bathing water season and preventing automatic de-designation of existing bathing water sites.
Defra will also seek public and stakeholder views on extending the definition of ‘bathers’ to include a wider range of water users in addition to swimmers – such as rowers, kayakers and paddle boarders. More information on this consultation will be published in due course.
Ludlow MP, Philip Dunne, has welcomed confirmation today that the River Teme at Ludlow has been awarded bathing water status by Defra.
Mr Dunne said: “Having campaigned for years now on water quality, including working with Severn Trent to boost investment in water quality on the River Teme for several miles around Ludlow, I am delighted that the stretch of the River Teme upstream from Dinham Weir has now received designation as a bathing water quality site by Defra.
“This designation will mean enhanced monitoring by the Environment Agency, giving swimmers and other river users the confidence that the water is clean and safe.
“This is a big step forward in water quality of our rivers in Shropshire, with the River Severn, both in Shrewsbury and at Ironbridge being designated alongside the River Teme at Ludlow. I am really pleased that the government has responded so positively to all our campaigning work in Shropshire, where 3 of the 12 new river sites being designated bathing waters across England are located.
“I look forward to working with the Environment Agency, Severn Trent Water, Shropshire Council and Ludlow Town Council and other local riparian owners to help bring safe and secure river swimming back to Ludlow this summer.”
Wilfred Denga, Severn Trent Bathing Rivers Lead, said:
“Today’s news builds on the work we have already committed to doing in Ludlow as part of our work to move a stretch of the River Teme towards bathing quality in a groundbreaking £78 million river health project. This project is seeing us, in a UK first, trial ozone disinfection to clean wastewater to a very high standard, install new storm tanks, and upgrade two pumping stations to reduce the number of overflow spills.
“We believe our operations currently account for 12 percent of the reasons why rivers in Shropshire aren’t achieving good ecological status, with 88 percent attributable to other sectors and we’re continuing our support of working with others such as the agriculture community with our STEPS programme.
“We’ve recently announced that we will be spending over £250 million over a 25-year period in Shropshire to reduce activations from storm overflows across the county. This work is seeing us do our bit to reduce our impact, and we remain committed to working with other sectors, such as agriculture, to play their part in improving river health as well.”
Water Minister Robbie Moore said:
“The value our bathing waters bring to local communities is incredibly valuable – providing social, physical and positive health and wellbeing benefits to people around the country – and I am pleased to have approved a further 27 new bathing water sites for this year.
“These popular swimming spots will now undergo regular monitoring to ensure bathers have up-to-date information on the quality of the water and enable action to be taken if minimum standards aren’t being met.
“I am fully committed to seeing the quality of our coastal waters, rivers and lakes rise further for the benefit of the environment and everyone who uses them.”
Environment Agency Chair Alan Lovell said:
“The importance of England’s bathing waters for residents and visitors alike cannot be understated, which is why the Environment Agency provides rigorous testing to ensure that bathers can make informed decisions before swimming in one of our 451 sites.
“Overall bathing water quality has improved massively over the last decade due to targeted and robust regulation from the Environment Agency, and the good work carried out by partners and local groups. Last year, 96% of sites met minimum standards, up from just 76% in 2010 – and despite stricter standards being introduced in 2015.
“We know that improvements can take time and investment from the water industry, farmers and local communities, but where the investment is made, standards can improve.
Last year, 96% of bathing waters in England met the minimum standards, with 90% classified as ‘good’ or ‘excellent’, up from 76% in 2010, despite the classification standards becoming stricter in 2015. The government also updated its guidance last year to make the application process clearer and easier to follow.”
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