Dear fellow swimmers
Bathing water status: not yet a done deal
You may have seen that the government proposes adding 13 new sites to the list of designated bathing waters in England.
Acceptance onto the list requires the Environment Agency to monitor water quality.
If a site doesn’t meet the required standards, they must investigate pollution sources and take remedial action.
Anyone can apply for a swimming spot to become a designated bathing water. The process is straightforward but time‑consuming. I was part of the group campaigning for ‘The River Thames at Ham and Kingston’, led by local resident and Bluetits swimmer Rebecca Mole, with ongoing support from Surfers Against Sewage.
However, designation isn’t yet confirmed. DEFRA, the government department responsible for bathing water status, is running a consultation to check there is sufficient public demand for these 13 proposed sites.
If you haven’t already, please respond to the consultation. You must submit a response for each site individually, so consider choosing the one or two you’re closest to or
most likely to visit.
If you respond to the survey for The River Thames at Ham and Kingston, the correct answer to the question about existing facilities and infrastructure to support bathing is ‘YES’.
Do it yourself?
