Water quality in the River Nidd will probably not improve “for several years” despite having been granted bathing water status, according to the chair of the Nidd Action Group, which successfully campaigned for the designation.
As we reported ahead of yesterday’s official announcement, Knaresborough Lido is one of 27 new bathing water sites named by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) ahead of the 2024 bathing season, which runs between 15 May and 30 September.
The status means that the Environment Agency will now test river water at the site regularly and have a duty to act if water quality does not come up to the required standard.
Defra’s approval of the status has been hailed a victory for campaigners, who were led by NAG and enjoyed heavyweight support from Andrew Jones, MP for Harrogate and Knaresborough.
But David Clayden, chair of NAG, said that although he was pleased with the result, it did not mean the matter had been settled, or that the river had been cleaned up yet. He said:
“I’m certainly happy that we’ve established the Lido as safe bathing water. It’s a good move for the town, for people who use the Lido, and for the river in general.
“I would suggest, though, that we won’t see any improvement for several years.”
He said that the Environment Agency would now be testing river water at the Lido every week for the next 30 weeks, after which it will decide on the basis of the data collected what classification the Lido will have: ‘excellent’, ‘good’, ‘sufficient’ or ‘poor’.
Mr Clayden said:
“I suspect it will be ‘poor’. The Environment Agency will then have to present a plan to improve the river’s water quality and work with Yorkshire Water and others to make it happen.
“NAG’s actions now will be to keep on their tail, pressing, checking and challenging to make sure water quality does actually improve.”
The lido for yesterday’s ministerial visit.
The campaign to have Knaresborough Lido designated as a bathing site came in response to long-standing concerns that the water in the River Nidd was dangerously polluted.
In 2020, every section of the Nidd in the Harrogate district failed Environment Agency water quality tests, in part due to pollution from raw sewage. Since then, tests have consistently found high levels of harmful E.coli bacteria in the water.
E.coli in water is a strong indicator of faecal contamination and ingesting it can cause vomiting and diarrhoea, or even lead to more severe illnesses.
Nidd Action Group was set up by concerned residents and fishing enthusiasts in October 2022 and last year organised an army of volunteers to test water quality at sites along the river. They found that E.coli concentrations were strongest downstream of Oak Beck’s confluence with the Nidd and peaked in August, after wet weather caused Yorkshire Water to discharge untreated waste into the river.
Earlier this year, a report from the Angling Trust found the Nidd to be among the UK’s most polluted rivers.
The granting of bathing water status has been claimed as a victory for Mr Jones, who said:
“Whilst I was quietly confident we would be successful I am delighted that we did it!”
‘We deserve much better’
But his adversary Tom Gordon, the Liberal Democrat parliamentary candidate, said that although the move was a “step in the right direction”, the government needed to do more. He said:
“The government needs to go much further and stop sewage being pumped into the River Nidd and all swimming sites. Conservative ministers allowed disgraced water firms to spill sewage into the Nidd for a staggering 17,229 hours last year, a 113% increase on 2022.
“No swimmer should have to fear raw sewage making them sick.
“Whilst the announcement is a step in the right direction, we deserve so much better. “
Mr Gordon said water companies would face punitive fines under Lib Dem plans to create a blue flag scheme for the Nidd. He added:
“Today the Liberal Democrats have tabled an amendment to make water companies criminally liable for their sewage pollution. I am urging Andrew Jones to back this and finally get tough on these firms.”
Rivers minister Robbie Moore and Andrew Jones MP at Knaresborough Lido yesterday.
Shan Oakes, the Green Party parliamentary candidate for Harrogate and Knaresborough, said yesterday’s announcement came as “no surprise”, adding:
“As soon as we saw photos, some months ago, of Andrew Jones MP posing with a minister, we knew that bathing water status would be conferred – because the Conservative Party wants Mr Jones to win here at the next election.
“This is laughable because it is Conservative policy which has led to the exponential destruction of our river habitats.”
Ms Oakes said bathing water status meant “very little in fact” because the Environment Agency, which will be responsible for monitoring water quality, “has been reduced by the Tories to a tiny fragment of its original size” and “will have difficulty in carrying out this added responsibility”.
“To actually improve water quality, there needs to be a fundamental change in ideology. That change is to stop depending on ‘the market’ to run things. We need government to put back real dynamic regulation or to bring these public services back into proper public control.”
Read more:
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Minister visits Knaresborough to confirm River Nidd bathing water status
Rivers minister Robbie Moore was in Knaresborough this morning to confirm the River Nidd had achieved bathing water status.
All 27 sites that applied for bathing water status were granted it today. The Stray Ferret reported earlier today that Knaresborough’s bid had been granted.
It means the Environment Agency will be obliged to act if tests find the river does not pass water quality checks.
Mr Moore joined Harrogate and Knaresborough Conservative MP Andrew Jones. who has led the Nidd campaign, at Knaresborough Lido to announce the news today.
Mr Moore said:
“The value our bathing waters bring to local communities is incredible – providing social, physical and positive health and wellbeing benefits.
“These popular swimming spots will now undergo regular monitoring to ensure bathers have up-to-date information on the quality of the water and enable action to be taken if minimum standards aren’t being met.
“I am fully committed to seeing the quality of our coastal waters, rivers and lakes rise further for the benefit of the environment and everyone who uses them.”
Mr Jones said it had been “a big community effort” and thanked those involved in what he described as “a constructive, positive approach to making our waterways healthier”.
He added:
“The Nidd is used by hundreds of people for recreation and the bid is all about helping them to do that in a consistently cleaner environment with water quality that shows sustained improvement.
“Whilst I was quietly confident we would be successful I am delighted that we did it!”
Designated bathing water status is an official way of recognising that a waterway such as a river, beach or lake is a popular site for water-based activities.
Achieving it means that during each bathing season from May to September, the Environment Agency will test the Lido for pollutants.
If any sites do not meet regulatory standards the Environment Agency will investigate and create a plan to tackle the sources of pollution.
While Mr Jones’ office monitored the number of bathers at the Nidd last summer, Nidd Action Group carried out water quality sampling.
David Clayden, chair of the Nidd Action Group, said:
“The Nidd Action Group welcome the news of the bid’s success and will support and scrutinise the actions of the Environment Agency and Yorkshire Water to improve our river’s health in the long term.
“We wish to keep the river as clean as practicable – not just for ourselves, but for all the communities that value the river and the wildlife which lives there. Thanks to the success of the bid we can look forward to a cleaner Nidd, fit for the future.”
“We are grateful to our local MP Andrew Jones and his team who volunteered to drive the bathing water bid forward so effectively.”
However, the clean water campaigner Feargal Sharkey said achieving the status was no guarantee of clean water. He posted on social media that sites currently with the status had not seen improvements.
Every single stretch of river currently designated as a bathing area has a 'Do not swim' advisory posted.
You have been warned. https://t.co/W0g1ptBNG1
— Feargal Sharkey (@Feargal_Sharkey) May 13, 2024
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