London Waterkeeper wants to see a swimmable Thames. The mental and physical health of thousands would benefit. Less than four years since we started putting pressure on Thames Water to publish real-time sewer spill alerts they agreed to do it and the service began in January 2023. Here is the map. Thank you to everyone that demanded action and pushed for greater accountability! Thank you to our lawyers Leigh Day too. A Thames Fit To Swim would be transcendent allowing more people to use it and not fear getting ill – whether that is to swim, row, kayak, standup paddleboard, or an ankle-deep paddle. It would see fish and other wildlife flourish and be a boon to local economies.
Other cities around Europe already have swimmable rivers. Munich’s River Isar is now clean enough to swim and play in. Copenhagen’s city beaches and harbour pools have been around for 20 years. They have changed the way people experience its waters and are now the most popular open spaces in the city.
We need the Environment Agency to embrace this vision for the Thames as part of its statutory duty to promote the use of inland waters for recreational purposes.
The aim is to have the most appropriate sections of the Thames become Designated Bathing Waters. For this to happen more people need to use the river. Bathing Water Status is only granted to well-used sites.
The gold standard is Copenhagen. Here’s how they made the city’s waters swimmable. This is their live bathing water quality website.
With the information online the power dynamic changes. We will know for the first time how well the infrastructure in and around London is coping. No longer will it be hidden from public view. This will drive investment. We will make sure that we harness the power of real-time data.