Wild swimming? Think again

sandelf

Agree the use of natural bodies of water as a 'back up' for sewage treatment failure is a scandal. But it is NOT political. We (and most countries in the world) have always dealt with overflows like this and the built sewer system is not adequate for the numbers of human beings now alive.

No, that's not correct. I was delighted to read that my ERG member MP voted against this disgusting business of amending regulations to allow the dumping of untreated sewage into rivers without risk of prosecution. I have emailed him today to thank him, poor bloke will faint as he only ever gets complaints from me! He obviously considers this matter more important than party politics and for that I applaud him.

Blimey gill we ought all write and thank him!!

Whitewavemark2

sandelf

Agree the use of natural bodies of water as a 'back up' for sewage treatment failure is a scandal. But it is NOT political. We (and most countries in the world) have always dealt with overflows like this and the built sewer system is not adequate for the numbers of human beings now alive.

I have to disagree with you there I am afraid.

Political choices has got us exactly to where we are.

Underinvestment in the infrastructure,

Privatisation of our water

Poor regulation

Poor enforcement of the existing if our regulations.

Take our water back into ownership, use the “profit” which is at present being trousered by individuals to rebuild the infrastructure and enforce and beef up the regulations.

All those- but now the above is being made hugely worse by Brexit, is there was nothing more 'political' than Brexit. Brexit is what is causing HGV driver shortage and massive difficulties in importing the chemicals necessary to water treatment. So I am afraid, it is very political.

My friend got badly stung by a jelly fish last month, so started swimming at a local waterfall until the month is over. She said its freezing, she only wears a swimming costume, as the water is coming down from the hills, but if I was her after reading this thread, I'd be staying at the waterfall rather than be going back into the sea.

Josianne

My eldest son frequently canoes in rivers. The way to avoid Weil's disease is apparently to drink loads of coca cola.
I agree, poor wildlife.

Yes - that's what the surfers do after a stint in the sea. We were on a French canal holiday a few years ago and after getting into an argument with a low bridge, one of our party fell overboard. He drank Coke when he was fished out.

lemongrove

I was reading a few days ago that many rivers in EU countries are polluted....you wouldn’t want a dip in the Seine!
It’s a problem that needs addressing and sewers updating.
The Environment Agency ( yes, including when we were in the EU) allows for so many raw human sewage disposals in rivers per year ( think that applies to all EU countries as well.)
So wild swimming in rivers has always been a risky business, as well at rat urine.Can’t understand why anyone does it.

I doubt it is legal in every country in the EU, though it probably is in some.

In Denmark, all waste water has to been cleaned before any of it is led into existing water-ways or the sea. Most cleaned water is re-used.

Government control also has measures to control the use of fertilizers near waterways.

Admittedly not all of these measures have proved successful (yet) but great efforts are being made to prevent contamination of water and of soil.

The Dutch are fussy too with regards to what may make its way into their waterways, and the French water police become very narky indeed, if you spill diesel fuel from your motor boat in their waters. Germany has miles and miles of canals and rivers, which are kept reasonably clean.

Obviously it takes time and effort to improve standards

Here in Scotland SEPA are not allowing this waiver to regulations which allows untreated sewage to be dumped into rivers. Our water supply has also not been privatised.

When I was a child we always swam in the river, but I wouldn't do it now. One of my GSs told me he and his friends were in and out during the heatwave so I sent him the latest about sewage dumping in the Thames.

Many, many Conservative voters in our mainly Conservative areas are writing to their MP's. Alan Mak and Gillian Keegan just don't bother to reply or come out with the usual claptrap. Our infrastructure is not equipped to cope with the massive new build estates being pushed on us and Southern Water lie when asked if they can accommodate them.
It would be very easy to if we could vote on each area of a Party's policy in elections but we can't. I can't think of many of the electorate in our area who would vote for this. I'd like to see Party politics dispensed with but I'm not sure about how you would replace it!

Thirty years ago my son had chemical poisoning from swimming in a river. It was caused by weed killer chemicals being sprayed on weeds and nettles along the banks that washed down into the river after heavy rain. He had vomiting, rash, temperature for 4 or 5 days and was quite ill.

So much for ' Cop 26'!!!! This country is going backwards!!

Until we joined the EEC we were literally swimming in shit on the North Wales coast, then we were forced to clean up our act.
This regression is appalling.

Saw that over the weekend, southern water companies discharged at 60 places into the sea…! Write to your MP - I have already done so.

Of course it is not legal in the EU, just as it was not legal in the UK when it was part of EU!

At what stage will France and other EU countries begin to sue as their own waters, shellfish and fish will be contaminated by our c***!

Dianehillbilly1957

So much for ' Cop 26'!!!! This country is going backwards!!

I don’t actually agree with protests during a pandemic but I do hope the world are made aware of what the government are doing.

I am pining my hopes on a rejection by the HoL.

Haven't paddled or swam in any Lake,river,Loch,stream or seaside for years. If it's not human sewage, it's chemical discharged from industry,agriculture, animals that's polluting waters. Wild swimming, no thank you.

Fireworks at Southend on Sea have been cancelled because of sewerage on the beach.

M0nica

DD wild swims in a local lake, so should be free of sewage.

And what feeds those lakes?

Well I must say I am very happy to live where I can swim in many lakes and rivers- and where regs are VERY tight - and same in nearby France.

I am disgusted with the sheer lack of regard to the public and nature, that the Tories en-masse seem to display. How could they allow this to happen? They’re supposed to working for the citizens! I am beyond incandescently furious.

Since I have been reading about this subject recently, France and Germany ( amongst other countries) have problems with sewerage in the rivers, including the Seine.So don’t have a dip there either!

The amendment in Parliament ( that was turned down) was turned down for a good reason at the moment.
For years ( including the time we spent in the EU) sewage was allowed to be discharged into rivers so many times a year.
The amendment was about making rivers cleaner post Brexit,
And although a good thing to do, just not the right time.
So, to sum up, it has nothing to do with leaving the EU ( dirty rivers) it was about trying to make them better now that we have left the EU.
At some point in the next few years there will have to be massive amounts spent on new sewers.

Petera

Scones

The tendency of many on the Left to see those on the other side of the political debate as inherently bad people — even sometimes as something a bit less than human. It is a dispiriting and destructive approach.

I remembered this quote posted by MOnica yesterday when I read Julie Burchill's article on 'woke' in the Mail on Sunday. The dehumanisation and level of hatred poured out in her article, directed at pretty everyone, showed how angry we are all being made by certain people with a grudge/issues.

This is not a left or a right problem. It's a universal problem.

Julie Burchill is on the right. Here is a quote from her last month "any female who has an iota of self-respect would be an idiot to vote for anyone other than the Conservative Party".

It may, or may not be a left/right problem, but Scones' quote starts "The tendency of many on the Left..." So maybe find a better example before congratulating her?

Petera You seem to have missed every point I made I'm afraid.

The quote was not my quote. It was taken from from MOnica's link to an article earlier in this thread.

I wasn't congratulating anyone nor commenting on Julie Burchill's political leaning. I was drawing attention to the battery of hatred towards almost everyone in Julie Burchill's article and how people with an axe to grind - whatever their political persuasion - whip up anger and bad feeling. My point being that this is a universal problem regardless of political orientation.

Whitewavemark2

Fireworks at Southend on Sea have been cancelled because of sewerage on the beach.

No they weren’t. They were cancelled in remembrance of David Amess

Sorry lemon, I know you want to excuse this Government whatever they do, however destructive- but your post is nonsense.

The current situation is directly linked to Brexit and directly linked to Private Companies shareholders.