River Nidd: Harmful bacteria in Yorkshire river ten times higher than ‘sufficient’ levels

The government accepted a bid for Bathing Water Status on the Nidd in May. Since then, the Environment Agency has undertaken weekly testing of a stretch of the river by Knaresborough Lido.

The idea behind the status is that more monitoring should help Yorkshire Water and other polluters better understand the problem so they can work to reduce the amount of waste that goes into the river.

Sampling has so far highlighted the huge amount of work required to clean up the river so it’s safe to swim in.

On July 15, tests found E.coli at ten times higher than “sufficient” levels.

This level has been exceeded in 10 of the 11 weekly samples taken since May, according to the Environment Agency, which means the bathing water quality is still rated as poor.

Due to a lack of recent rainfall, the group says it seems unlikely that combined sewer overflows or rain are responsible for the current high levels of E.coli.

But they said treated human sewage is discharged into the river or becks “more or less continuously” and sewage treatment works are not required to remove E.coli from the wastewater they legally discharge.

Nidd Action Group said other potential sources of E.coli include private septic tanks not owned by Yorkshire Water.

Sampling will continue until the end of September and then the Environment Agency has six months to come up with a plan of action.

David Clayton, chair of Nidd Action Group, said he wants to see bodies work more with local people to help tackle the problem.

He said: “Maybe Harrogate and Knaresborough’s new MP or the new Mayor of York and North Yorkshire will get some coordinated, evidence-based action started?

“Unless they get citizens involved, local swimmers at The Lido will not see improvement any soon. We are part of the problem, and part of the solution.”

Yorkshire Water, like all private water companies across the country, has faced repeated criticism for releasing sewage into rivers when the sewerage system is at risk of being overwhelmed, such as during heavy rainfall.

A Yorkshire Water spokesperson said: “We know there is more to do to improve water quality in Yorkshire’s rivers, and we’ve been actively supportive of the bathing water application on the River Nidd.

“As part of our business plan that’s currently in consultation, we’ve proposed investment at our storm overflows within 5km upstream of the Lido to reduce discharges in line with the Environment Act targets.

“In the meantime, we’re already underway with a £180m programme to reduce discharges from storm overflows across the region before April 2025 – some of which are based along the River Nidd and its tributaries.

“We know that making this investment is by no means a quick fix, and we understand that our customers are interested in how frequently our storm overflows are operating now.”