WATER testing will begin at 18 sites along the River Thames this week in the first stage of an effort to make it clean enough for people to swim in.

Eighteen sites along the Thames and its upstream tributaries will be tested at once on Friday, June 18 to investigate whether the city could host the UK’s second ever designated river bathing water.

The mass testing, called the Oxford WaterBlitz, is the first practical step in a larger scheme, the Oxford Rivers Project, which aims to make the Thames at Port Meadow run with water of bathing quality.

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On Friday, trained volunteers will take samples from the river to establish a snapshot of the levels of pollution from sewage, agriculture, and other domestic or commercial sources. 

Mark Lloyd, CEO of The Rivers Trust, said: “Following the science is absolutely crucial if we’re going to restore our rivers, and the overall environment, to good health, so it is very exciting to be engaging the public in this landmark citizen science initiative. We’re very hopeful that there will be many more projects like this across the country, so our waterways can thrive again for people and wildlife.”

The Oxford Rivers Project, is described as the UK’s longest and largest study of bacterial water quality in rivers.

Regular testing of the 18 sites along the river began in April as part of the End Sewage Pollution Mid-Thames Group’s campaign for Port Meadow to become a designated bathing water, but this is the first time all sites will be tested in one day.

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The results collected by citizen scientists will be processed in Thames Water laboratories and analysed by data scientists from The Rivers Trust to give a clearer picture of how safe the site currently is for recreational use. 

The results are set to be published in late June, followed by a more detailed report in the Autumn.

All of this will feed into a bid for official recognition of bathing water quality at Port Meadow, which will mean special alerts will be issued when the river is not clean, and that clean up efforts might be spurred on in the future.

Sewage pollution has been highlighted as a major problem for rivers, particularly in the past year as more people have used the Thames while they were unable to travel further from home. 

In the upper Thames, untreated sewage was released for 50,000 hours in 2020, carrying bacteria which can be harmful to swimmers, kayakers and other river users. 

Last year, more than 5,000 residents signed a petition calling for a designated bathing water area in Oxford, regular testing for bacteria, alerts of raw sewage spills, and improvements to the wastewater system.

This has been supported by Oxford City Council, and the Oxford Rivers Project has since been launched as a partnership between the council, volunteers and a group called Thames21.

Debbie Leach, CEO of Thames21, said: “The Oxford Rivers Project is a fantastic community-led initiative that shows how people can make a real difference and we are delighted to support it.

"The council’s application for Bathing Water Status is a crucial opportunity that will give the rivers at Oxford the same public health testing as our seaside and ensure that it is safe to swim in. We need clean water in our rivers.”