Campaigners slam government river bathing decision

The government's rejection of each but 1 exertion for bathing h2o presumption for English rivers is "very disappointing", environmentalists say.

Part of the River Deben successful Suffolk is inactive successful the moving but campaigners for cleanable h2o accidental proposals for 8 different stream sites were declined.

Designation arsenic an authoritative bathing tract obliges the Environment Agency to regularly trial h2o quality.

Campaigners accidental they person not been told wherefore the decisions person been made.

You tin inactive aquatics successful non-designated sites but it's improbable the h2o prime volition beryllium monitored oregon tested.

Water companies presently person to supply information connected however galore hours earthy sewage flows into waterways, but determination is constricted investigating of what it means for h2o quality.

There volition present beryllium a play of nationalist consultation connected 4 caller sites becoming officially designated arsenic bathing water. Two are astatine a reservoir successful Rutland with the others connected the seashore successful Plymouth, arsenic good arsenic the River Deben successful Suffolk.

"The actions we person taken mean that radical crossed the state volition beryllium capable to aquatics astatine much sites and successful amended prime water, but we cognize determination is much to do," says Water Minister Rebecca Pow.

There are already 421 designated bathing h2o sites successful England. The immense bulk of them are coastal with conscionable two, successful Yorkshire connected the River Wharfe and Oxfordshire, connected the Thames connected rivers.

Applicants for authoritative bathing presumption are asked to supply grounds of section support, information connected however galore radical aquatics astatine the tract and whether determination are facilities nearby, specified arsenic toilets.

Kirsty Davies, assemblage h2o prime serviceman for run radical Surfers Against Sewage called the rejections "a slap successful the look for communities who are trying to tackle the sewage contamination crisis."

"It's a Catch 22," Ms Davies said. "They won't attraction for waters that aren't designated, but we use for designation, and they decline."

One of those turned down is astatine Wallingford connected the River Thames. In a connection South Oxfordshire District assembly said they were "extremely disappointed" by the determination and were seeking clarification connected the reasons down it.

In 2020 portion of the Wharfe successful Ilkley became the archetypal UK stream to beryllium designated arsenic a bathing site, successful what was past seen arsenic a large triumph for h2o prime campaigners. But efforts to get 3 much stretches of the Wharfe officially designated person been rejected.

Councillor Linda Richards, who had been moving connected the designation told the BBC that they had been sent emails which said they'd failed to conscionable the criteria but didn't explicate why.

"This is simply a disappointing setback but not the extremity of the road," she said, explaining that they would bid for designated presumption again.

A spokesperson for DEFRA said they would not remark connected idiosyncratic applications but that sites that did not conscionable criteria would not advancement to nationalist consultation.

Additional reporting by Sophie Woodcock.

Follow Jonah connected Twitter @jonahfisherbbc