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14
May 2024
River Nidd will probably not improve 'for several years', says campaigner
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:
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:
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:
'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:
Mr Gordon said water companies would face punitive fines under Lib Dem plans to create a blue flag scheme for the Nidd. He added:
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:
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".
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