Thousands of water sports enthusiasts risk sickness because of poor water quality on waterways, a new report reveals.
Anglers, kayakers, outdoor swimmers and sailboarders are practising their hobbies in polluted rivers, lakes and the sea.
But currently water sport sites are not regularly tested for water quality.
The only sites that get regular weekly water quality tests are officially designated bathing water sites of which there are 600 in the UK.
Tests are also only carried out during the official bathing season, which lasts just 20 weeks in England and Wales from May to September and 15 weeks in Scotland and Northern Ireland from June to September.
Research by Surfers Against Sewage tested water quality at 13 popular sites used by water sports enthusiasts across the UK on a weekly basis between May and September 2024.
Ten out of the 13 were deemed to be ‘poor’ by the testers.
The ten water sport sites with ‘poor’ water quality included: Figgate Burn, Edinburgh; Jubilee River, Buckinghamshire; Thames at Boulters Lock, Maidenhead; Thames at Bourne End Buckinghamshire, the Thames at Teddington, River Avon, Stratford; Thames, Central Windsor; Traeth Benllech, Ynys Mon; Watchtower Bay, Barry; and the Mersey at New Brighton.
Giles Bristow, CEO of Surfers Against Sewage said ‘so-called Bathing Water Regulations’ are failing
Outdoor swimmers are practising their hobbies in polluted rivers, lakes and the sea.
The only sites that get regular weekly water quality tests are officially designated bathing water sites
The Camel Estuary, Cornwall, was found to be ‘excellent’ in the tests, while Dale Bay, Milton Haven was ‘sufficient’ and the River Soar, at Leicestershire was ‘Good’.
The group additionally said official tests at bathing water sites are also inadequate because they are allowed to disregard ‘spikes’ in bacteria levels, caused by sewage overflows during wet weather.
Giles Bristow, CEO of Surfers Against Sewage, said: ‘Our so-called Bathing Water Regulations, designed to protect our health when we’re using the water, are failing. They’re outdated, inconsistent and blind to the reality of how we all use our waterways – if you believed the regulations, you’d think the public only use the water to swim in summer.
‘The government must act to end the era of inadequate water quality testing and deliver a future where we’re all given a full picture of what’s coursing through the waters where we swim, dip and surf. We need to lift the lid to make sure we can flush all the pollutants out of our wild waters.’
Last year 11.6 million people enjoyed outdoor water sports in England, and 7.2 million of those took part in activities other than swimming, according to Sport England.
