River Wharfe at Ilkley: Samples fail to hit safety standards

Up to 1,750 people swim in the River Wharfe at Ilkley on the hottest days of the year, Ilkley Clean River Group says

A popular bathing spot has recorded bacteria levels which regularly break safety standards, Environment Agency data shows.

Hundreds of people often swim in the River Wharfe in Ilkley, West Yorkshire, during spells of warm weather.

But the data, first reported in the I, found levels of bacteria were often far higher than is deemed safe for inland wild swimming.

Yorkshire Water said it was committed to improving water quality.

A stretch of the river became the first in England to be a designated bathing site in 2020, meaning pollution will be regularly monitored.

• Read more Yorkshire stories

Samples taken from the river at the Ilkley Stepping Stones site and at Cromwheel between June and August repeatedly showed that levels of intestinal enterococci bacteria and E. coli failed to meet inland bathing water standards.

Becky Malby from the Ilkley Clean River Group, a community organisation which pushed for the bathing site status, said: "You can't treat the river as a drain, which is basically what's happening, so every time there's a bit of rain the sewerage system in Ilkley is at capacity and they just throw it in the river.

"At least we're all talking and agreeing that the data is the data, everyone now knows you really can't [swim in it]."

Designated bathing site status led to new signage and regular water quality testing

Yorkshire Water, which operates the treatment works next to the river, said work was taking place to improve water quality by reducing discharges from sewer overflow points.

A spokesperson said: "We are expecting this project to be completed in December, with further work to increase the capacity of the sewer networks scheduled for completion in late 2022."

The Environment Agency said: "We know that water quality won't change overnight but will require work from water companies, farmers and others to see change.

"This is already under way through a coalition led by Yorkshire Water with the Environment Agency, Bradford Council, National Farmers Union, Yorkshire Wildlife Trust and landowners upstream of Ilkley."