Cornwall's Surfers Against Sewage launch campaign for cleaner rivers by 2030
The environmental charity is calling for 200 official river bathing spots across the UK
A petition has been launched by a Cornish charity, calling for official river swim spots to help tackle sewage pollution in blue spaces across the UK.
Surfers Against Sewage are calling for 200 designated river bathing spots to be put in place by the government by 2030, after research suggested 75% of rivers post a serious risk to human health.
Campaign lead Amy Slack told us: "We're seeing this huge boom in people using rivers for kayaking, wild swimming in rivers. We really need to make sure that people are enjoying our blue spaces for their mental health and wellbeing and physical health as well are kept safe while they're doing so".
The Cornish charity is asking for 400 signatures to their petition after figures show only 14% meet a good ecological status.
According to the charity, along the coastline, 98% of bathing waters now meet minimum water quality standards.
It reports that despite cleaner seas, with rivers flowing directly into the sea, any sewage building up in rivers directly impacts the health of the ocean.
Amy continued: "We know that sewage is a massive problem, it causes stomach upsets, e-coli, ear, nose and mouth issues. So we know it's a huge problem to human health and we need to know that people are safe when they go and enjoy these areas".
"We need to present our voice and the voice of the people to the government to drive the ambition. It's really the first step to ensure our rivers are starting to be cleaned up".
The charity's call for change comes in the weeks before new data is due to be issued by the Environment Agency on the scale of sewage discharges released by water companies in 2021.
The campaign hopes giving designated status with place a legal obligation to improve water quality in all inland blue spaces.
Hugo Tagholm, CEO at Surfers Against Sewage, said: "Designated bathing waters are a powerful tool to help bring communities together, driver water quality improvements, and protect both people and planet. More Bathing Waters, both coastal and inland, will shine a light on poor water quality in our rivers, lakes and beaches and so be the catalyst for real, systemic change.
"We need to see hundreds more official swimming sites throughout our rivers, to help drive a decade of ambition for clean water".
According to SAS, 4.3 million people visit UK's inland blue spaces every fortnight but only one UK bathing spot is located in a river, in River Wharf at Ikley, Yorkshire.
Hugo continued: “The public demand rivers and beaches free from sewage pollution, and Bathing Water status is the first step to making this a reality. Action must be taken from source to sea, and we must ensure that the government and the water industry move from making good statements to making good all our blue spaces to delivering thriving blue environments for all. It’s time to end sewage pollution once and for all".
Rebecca Malby from Ilkley Clean Campaign Group said: "Bathing Status clearly puts pressure on the water Companies and Environment Agency to take action. The Environment Committee's ambition for bathing sites was underwhelming. It is clear that we must have bathing sites across UK rivers to secure clean water for people and wildlife, and this must reflect the public's real concerns that our rivers are being used as open sewers for profit"
The campaign runs until 2030 when the government declares a goal of becoming net-zero.
You can find the petition here or read more about the Cornish charity's campaign on their website.