Olympic rowing legend wants River Thames clean-up

Sir Steve Redgrave says "urgent action" is needed to tackle river pollution (image from 2023)

Olympic rowing legend Sir Steve Redgrave is calling on the government to tackle "pollution for profit" in the Thames, as 3,000 young rowers are set to take to the water in west London.

In a letter to Environment Secretary Steve Reed, the five-times gold medallist stressed the need to combat contamination of the river.

Sir Steve said: "It's about the future of one of the world's most iconic rivers. We won't sit quietly while this catastrophe continues."

The government said it had put water companies under "tough special measures", including a possible bonus ban, while Thames Water said it would "deliver a record amount of investment to address our ageing infrastructure" over the next five years.

The letter will be delivered to the Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (Defra) as schools from across the UK gather for the the prestigious Schools' Head of the River Race.

Environmental charity River Action is co-ordinating the effort to protect the Thames from severe sewage discharges.

Sir Steve has called for an end to "pollution for profit" by water companies, urging firm action against Thames Water to ensure it cleans up its infrastructure.

He said he wanted environmental regulators to have more power to hold polluters accountable.

"This is not just about rowing. It's about all river users' public health. It's about our environment," Sir Steve said.

Sir Steve Redgrave, by then retired, rowed down the River Thames as a torchbearer ahead of the London 2012 Olympics

A River Action spokesperson said that concerns over water quality had led the charity, British Rowing, and The Rivers Trust to issue safety guidelines for rowers.

These include covering cuts, avoiding swallowing river water, and cleaning equipment thoroughly.

Sir Steve said the situation was "completely unacceptable" and that "urgent action" was needed to stop sewage discharges.

River Action conducted water-quality testing last year on the stretch of the Thames, used for the Schools' Head of the River Race between Mortlake and Putney.

The results revealed dangerously high levels of E.coli bacteria, the charity said, up to 10 times higher than the Environment Agency's threshold for "poor" bathing waters.

A Thames Water spokesperson said: "There are multiple sources of E.coli in watercourses throughout England including (not limited to) agriculture run-off, industry, misconnected properties and sewer failures."

Erica Popplewell, River Action's head of communities, said the government should take "decisive action" to end pollution in England's rivers.

The Thames Water spokesperson said that among its infrastructure upgrades,£1.8bn would be committed to improve river health in London.

They added that the Tideway Tunnel and associated upgrades coming into full operation in 2025 would capture 95% of the untreated sewage currently entering the tidal Thames in a typical year.

"We are also continuing to execute our plans to upgrade over 250 of our sites across the region to lower the number of storm discharges."

A government spokesperson said: "This government inherited a water system where for too long water companies have pumped record levels of sewage into our waterways."

They said the Water Act had allowed action to be taken on bonuses, and criminal charges could be brought against firms if laws were broken.

"The government has secured over £100bn of private sector investment to upgrade and build new water infrastructure to clean up our waterways and support the building of 1.5 million new homes," the spokesperson added.