We at BedsGOVET are fighting hard to keep the River Great Ouse monitored so that we can inform all river users of contamination issues, especially the extremely high levels of E. coli we regularly see in our monthly testing programme across 20 sites in Bedfordshire.
So how did it get to this?
One of the key factors is the naivety (at best) of successive governments in allowing Water Companies to self-monitor their sewage outfalls into our rivers – of course, the water companies are going to tell the Environment Agency that they have dumped raw sewage into our rivers for many hours.
It is like asking students to mark their own homework, and it is not difficult to understand why E. coli levels are now at eye-watering heights in parts of the River Great Ouse.
What makes the matter even more difficult to understand is that in almost every river in England, the Environment Agency can only test for E.coli at a recognised Bathing Site –there are not many river sites in the UK currently.
A list is available on Gov.UK and the majority detail coastal sites rather than rivers.
The process of having a bathing site granted requires proving that there are at least 100 bathers per day during the bathing season on at least 2 days.
Proof of this must be shown through a survey and photos. Not a simple thing to do unless it is a managed affair, which is not allowable.
This does not include a further long list of required facilities, including lifeguards, first aid, easy access (including disabled access), changing and toilet facilities, and parking. Most river sites are not suitable for this kind of set up.
The whole point of river swimming is to enjoy the natural world, to walk in off the bank and swim.
In Bedford, our Chair, Alan Horn, has been officially informed that there is no intention to upgrade the Priory Sewage Plant before 2030 – does this mean a further four years of potential spillages into the river?
So, what can BedsGOVET do?
We have teamed up with Birmingham University to develop and implement a number of test monitors that detect sudden surges from the storm overflow drains.
We are in the process of siting these monitors in the river. The surges will be detected by the monitors and data will be sent immediately to both Birmingham University and BedsGOVET.
If these occur on dry days when it is illegal to discharge sewage, we will film and take samples of the wastewater.
BedsGOVET is at a critical stage of agreeing with the Environment Agency how we will manage this. It is essential work, and we will keep you updated on what we find out.
PS: We have now been able to restart our Facebook page after many months of being locked out due to an admin issue. Please check out our new posts and feel free to engage with us.
By Inga Wells. Executive MBA, PG Dip DMS.
The Bedford Independent is proud to support BedsGOVET in their
vital work to monitor water quality in the River Great Ouse
and provide them with space for a column as
part of their Don’t Lose the Ouse campaign.
