Is sewage really everywhere?
If you read the papers, watch the news, listen to your neighbour question your choice to swim outdoors, you might be led to believe all of our waterways are thick with human waste.
This week 27 new bathing water sites have been designated in recognition of the need for better monitoring and understanding of water quality at some of the places we swim.
Swimming with turds appeals to no-one and these new designations are a step in the right direction but they’re not going to give us all the information we need. These new designations won’t solve the national problem and only provide a small snapshot for those locations, not the whole nation.
Many swimmers are worried about water pollution. Along with water access, it’s a conversation I have regularly with clients. Yet, despite the worries millions are still swimming at our coasts and inland waterways.
It's a strange disconnect isn’t it. If our waterways really are open sewers, as perceived by the media, why are people still swimming?
As someone who’s spent the last 10 years or so swimming outdoors every week, I feel comfortable saying that not all of our waterways are overwhelmed by human waste. I’ve never been ill as a result of swimming outside. That’s not to say that’s the case for everyone but, if millions (1) of people were getting sick from their activity of choice every week, would we really still be seeing it grow in popularity?
So, where does that disconnect lie? The simple answer is that our waters aren’t all full of sewage all of the time. There are many, many clean waterways in the UK: rivers; lakes; ponds; reservoirs and the sea. Lots of it’s OK to swim, wallow and dip in.
Outdoor Swimmer magazine published a great article recently offering a sensible viewpoint on the problems we face here https://outdoorswimmer.com/featured/outdoor-swimming-and-the-sewagescandal-how-bad-is-it/
In this piece, I want to add a little more information, picking up some key nuances most people don’t understand. We also need to be mindful of viewing anything purely through the eyes of the media.
Media outlets regularly lead with reader grabbing headlines. More papers sold, website hits, clicks made and adverts linked to, equals more cash in the pocket of those in charge. Some outlets are better than others but, even the better ones, often use a leading headline that bears only a glancing similarity to the more accurate information in the main body of text. People can be prone to simply scanning a headline and not reading the full article. Headlines alone can form people’s opinions and “knowledge” regardless of reality. Implying that all of our rivers are full of human waste gets a reaction, a click, a read, whether it’s completely true or not. Negative news sells.
That negative news has, in a way, had a positive outcome. The amount of media coverage our waterways are getting is forcing the action we need. Government, the regulator and the water companies are slowly picking up where they’ve failed to do so for decades. It will take time but I’m confident positives will come from this media poo-storm.
Now to the reality of what we’re dealing with. What exactly is sewage? Yes, it’s the flushing’s from your toilet but it’s not just that. It’s any water that goes down the drains. At home think: sinks; showers; washing machines as well as the loo. In many cases that’s mixed with rainwater from surface drains as it wends its way to our waste water treatment works. I know I tend to think toilet bowl when I hear the word sewage but, in reality, it’s not just that. It’s still not necessarily something I’d want to swim in but maybe not as bad as that initial thought when we hear the word sewage.
The source of the sewage entering our waterways, that’s reported in the media at least, is largely from combined sewer overflows (CSOs) and waste water treatment works managed by water companies. Those CSO’s and waste water treatment work spills are, by their very design, part of a safety release valve system. They’re designed to overflow when there’s heavy rainfall and prevent sewage backing up into homes (2). The sewage coming out of them should be heavily diluted by rainwater. I’ve talked about dilutions and how that affects whether you’re likely to get poorly or not here
All CSOs and overflows from waste water treatment works owned by water companies are available to view here via the Rivers Trust “Are my rivers fit to play in” map. Thames, Yorkshire and United Utilities also now have live feeds on these locations so you can, in theory, see exactly when an overflow is spilling. It’s worth noting, the live feed element of these is, in most cases, reliant on mobile data signals which could lead more rural areas, where mobile signal is patchy, to be less reliable.
They’re scary looking maps but they can be useful to put into context just how many of these outlets there are. Do bear in mind that there are other inputs to rivers which could cause pollution that are not measured and monitored centrally like this system too
The majority of these spill locations are on rivers and at our coasts. These environments are hugely dynamic. They’re changing all the time. Any pollution event from a spill will move on quite quickly and become diluted by river or sea water over time. Just because a spill has happened on one day, it doesn’t mean that location is a permanent pollution hotspots.
But here’s the real kicker, there’s a huge flaw in these maps………..the data that they use.
The data collected and reported on these maps is gathered using devices called event duration monitors (EDMs). EDMs measure only the duration of a spill, how many minutes or hours it lasts for. They don’t measure how much (volume) or what it is (water composition and therefore if it’s likely to be polluting or not).
Not knowing what or how much is spilling leaves us hugely in the dark. Those spills could be a tiny little trickle or a raging torrent. They could also be either pure toilet flushings or well diluted sewage that’s going to cause minimal harm to a river system.
Without this information it becomes much, much harder to know whether an overflow will be a problem or not. And this is where the disconnect between those scary headlines and the millions of swimmers who don’t get sick every year arises.
The information provided by the EDMs just isn’t enough for swimmers to assess whether a swim spot is clean enough or not. So, to my mind, whilst knowing the location of potential spills via the maps linked here is useful, the information it gives us isn’t enough to make a well-educated decision on whether to swim. The information definitely shouldn’t be used in isolation to rule out any particular water body.
The heavy, negative stories appearing in the media are putting many swimmers off starting or continuing with an activity that can bring so much joy, freedom and happiness. Halting many from taking part in an activity that’s being shown time and again to have the potential to save the NHS millions via reduced health burdens (1).
What we actually need is:
Accurate real time water quality monitoring across our water systems that tells water users whether the water is clean enough to swim. The equipment exists to do this.
Better managed water systems that lead to high water quality and healthy waterways across the UK.
Given that we don’t have these things (yet), what can you look out for to work around our current imperfect system?
Here’s the Peak Swims key points on water quality.
What does the water look like? Clear doesn’t automatically mean clean just as brown or cloudy doesn’t always mean dirty. Look out for things like sewage fungus (3), solid waste in the water like wet-wipes or sanitary products, suspicious looking scums (that aren’t natural surfactants 4) or water that looks significantly different to other times you’ve swum.
What does the water smell like? If it smells bad don’t go in.
What are other swimmers doing? The swim community is a friendly place and people regularly share information if they’ve become ill or they’ve had concerns at a location. By and large, if a swim spot is attracting lots of people on a regular basis the water quality is likely to be OK. People wouldn’t be going back if they were all getting sick.
What’s the weather doing? High rainfall makes spills more likely via CSO’s, waste water treatment works and road and agricultural runoff. If there’s a lot of water running in, it could be carrying pollutants. Think about returning when the rushing water has stopped. Never swim in floodwaters.
What’s upstream? Areas of high population and/or industry increase the chances of pollution. Check the maps linked above to see if there are overflow points. Avoid areas immediately downstream if there is live data that a spill is occurring or you’re concerned it may have spilled within the last 24 hours.
Get to know your waterway. Over time you’ll get a feel for how it changes in different seasons and weather and be able to build a picture of when pollution risk may be higher.
As with any swim, if you’re not feeling it and don’t want to get in, don’t. Particular care should be taken by anyone with young children or who is immunocompromised as these groups are likely to have less resistance to any nasty bugs which may be in the water. Swim your own swim.
As an extra precaution always wash your hands after your swim, particularly before eating or drinking, and be sure to wash you and your swim kit when you get home.
UK waters are far from universally clean and in pristine health but, there are some beautiful, clean waterways in the UK, it would be a real shame if people missed out on the benefits due to unfounded fears.
Many thanks to friends in the water industry for keeping me up to date on how our water industry operates and the reality behind the headlines.
Happy, safe swimming!
