Councillors back River Swale safe bathing designation at Richmond Falls

A campaign to get a popular stretch of the River Swale designated as safe for bathing has received support from local councillors.

The Save Our Swale group wants 50m of the river upstream from Richmond Falls to be granted the status by the Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs.

The bid comes amid concerns about pollution in the River Swale and discharges from Yorkshire Water’s Richmond Sewage Treatment Works.
The designation would mean that the Environment Agency had to regularly test the river water quality for bacteria between May 15 and September 30.

The site would then be given a classification of ‘excellent’, ‘good’, ‘sufficient’, or ‘poor’, and North Yorkshire Council would have to display this information to allow the public to make an informed decision about using the river.
If the water quality was classified as poor or sufficient, officials would have to investigate pollution sources and take steps to improve the water quality.

Deborah Meara, from Save Our Swale, said: “Our rivers are a precious natural resource, yet in the 21st century our broken water system allows water companies, such as Yorkshire Water, to dump untreated sewage into them with alarming regularity.
“Achieving designated bathing water status for the Swale would be the first step to ensuring a cleaner river, to protect it for wildlife, the environment and future generations.”

The group has launched a consultation on its bid and is urging local residents to take part.

Representatives from Yorkshire Water are due to give a presentation to councillors sitting on North Yorkshire Council’s Richmondshire area committee on Monday on its efforts to improve water quality.
Richmond independent councillor Stuart Parsons said North Yorkshire Council had unanimously backed Save Our Swale’s work at a vote last year.
He added: “Save Our Swale is well managed, well led and is on top of things proactively getting everything prepared for the bid.
“We will be asking questions to Yorkshire Water on Monday to see what responses they have and what further work they are doing to improve things.”

Green Party councillor Kevin Foster, who represents Hipswell and Colburn, said he had written a letter of support for Save Our Swale’s bid.
He said: “We want the community to be safe. Until water safety is improved, people need to have the information they need to make decisions about spending time in or on the river.
“And it’ll also give us better evidence to get water companies to step up and take action to improve water quality.
“It’s ridiculous that we have to make the case not to put sewage and other nasties in our rivers, but sadly at the moment, that’s what’s happening.”

Yorkshire Water says it plans to spend £1.5b over a five-year period to reduce discharges from its combined storm overflows, with a further £98m invested in water quality monitoring.

To take part in Save Our Swale’s bathing water designation consultation, visit www.saveourswale.co.uk