MP calls for rethink on bathing water criteria

FREDDIE van Mierlo has urged the Government to help secure bathing water status for the Thames in Henley.

The Henley MP spoke in a Commons debate on Tuesday on bathing water regulations.

In November the Government launched a review of the current criteria for bathing waters to improve monitoring of locations where large numbers of people swim.

Bathing water status places a legal obligation on polluters and government to test water quality during the bathing season and improve water quality.

Last year, a bid by the charity Thames21 to secure bathing water status for the River Thames at Mill Meadows was rejected by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.

The application, which was supported by Henley Town Council and South Oxfordshire District Council, was said to have failed to the meet the criteria.

Mr van Mierlo said the current system was “perverse” as it requires swimmers to brave “potentially dangerous water” before a site is cleaned up.

He said: “This topsy turvy thinking is all wrong. That’s why I very much welcome the Government’s review of the status.”

He said that “bonkers” criteria had stopped the Henley application from being successful.

Mr van Mierlo said: “Despite widespread use of the river, for paddle boating, pleasure boating and rowing, only spontaneous immersed swimmers count as river users. But being a paddleboarder does not mean you won’t end up in the water.

“Equally, rowers are constantly exposed to spray and contact during their sport, a fact that leads every year to reports of domestic and international athletes falling ill at Henley Royal Regatta after being exposed to our effluent.

“It’s embarrassing to know that during the regatta, if I flush the toilet, it may well be that it ends up having to be wiped down from the side of a boat.

“It is also bonkers that organised swimming events have been excluded from the criteria. While I understand that one would not want to see events organised solely with the purpose of meeting the criteria, Henley has enjoyed a vibrant organised swimmer culture for many years with four annual events put on by the brilliant Henley Swim.

“I urge the Government to replace the current bathing water designation with a recreational water designation with teeth, taking into account the full range of river users.”

The MP requested a meeting with the minister.

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