River Cam bathing water site at Sheep’s Green is rated ‘poor’ in annual classifications
A stretch of the River Cam designated as a bathing water area has been rated ‘poor’ in annual classifications of sites in England.
The classifications by Environment Agency and the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) follow testing of England’s 450 designated sites throughout the May to September bathing season.
Anne Miller, of Cam Valley Forum, said: “We welcome this official recognition of the poor water quality in the Cam, which is what we’d all expected. This now acts as a statutory driver requiring the Environment Agency and water company to investigate the sources of pollution and remedy them.”
The stretch at Sheep’s Green in Cambridge was among 27 sites in England to be given designated bathing status this year.
The EA is responsible for monitoring the water quality of designated bathing water sites. Throughout the bathing season, it takes samples of water and tests them for two bacteria, E.coli and intestinal enterococci, which can indicate pollution that can pose a risk to the health of bathers.
However, the agency has said that it is not unexpected for a site that had been newly-designated to be ‘poor’ because up until that point it had not been monitored or managed for bathing.
“For us to create a plan and work to improve a bathing water site, we first need to understand what’s going on – and that’s what starts in the first year of designation,” it said.
A motion to Cambridge City Council’s full council on Thursday, 28 November calling for the authority to write to the EA and Anglian Water demanding they take “urgent action” to investigate and address the causes of pollution was backed by councillors.
The motion also called for the council to be informed on progress with a letter to the chief executive every six months.
“We believe this will help keep up the pressure for improvements,” said Anne, who added that Cam Valley Forum welcomed the motion, which was proposed by Cllr Cameron Holloway.
