Half the river sites tested along the River Great Ouse through Bedfordshire are unsafe for bathing, according to new data from the Bedfordshire Great Ouse Valley Environmental Trust (BedsGOVET).
Last night’s Climate Change Committee (Monday, 22 September) heard that monthly testing at 16 locations between Turvey and Great Barford found that E. coli levels at half of the sites were at or above Ofwat’s threshold for safe bathing.
Four of the sites recorded especially high readings, with one sample exceeding 10,000 coliforms, more than 11 times the safety limit.
Alan Horn, chair of BedsGOVET, said: “The upshot is that the river is in a very bad state… nitrate, phosphate and E. coli levels are unacceptable.”
BedsGOVET stressed the risks: “E. coli is dangerous; it can cause kidney failure and make people very ill.”
Popular swimming spots at Felmersham, Great Barford and Bedford Embankment were also found to be of “poor quality”, with BedsGOVET warning that water quality there is not safe for bathing.
“There hasn’t been a single week throughout [our testing] when these locations have been fit for swimming,” Henry Lafferty, also from BedsGOVET, said.
Members heard that a worried parent asked BedsGOVET to test at Cardington Lock, where her son swims with friends.
Mr Horn said: “We found 4,000 coliforms – 900 is the safe swimming level.
“We’re not able to to do anything apart from telling her ‘please tell your son not to jump in the river [there].”
The group said its priority is to expand testing and work with the Environment Agency and Bedford Borough Council.
The Bedford Independent gives BedsGOVET a monthly column each month to keep our readers up to date on their work. You can read their latest and previous columns here.
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 the column as part of their Don’t Lose the Ouse campaign.
By John Guinn
Local Democracy Reporter
