Image Credit: Lucy Heywood
As the Thames snakes its way through Port Meadow, it provides an idyllic location to relax and enjoy the surrounding landscape. People have lived and used this land for thousands of years, and it has a history which stretches from the Stone Age to the English Civil War. During that conflict Parliamentarian forces used Port Meadow during their siege of the city, evidence of which can still be seen on the landscape. The sluggish flow of the Thames adds to the beauty of this unique landscape. So unique, that it has been declared both a Scheduled Ancient Monument, and a site of Special Scientific Interest.
Oxford has a long tradition of public use of its waterways, through bathing and what we would now call wild swimming. Numerous public bathing points were built in the 19th century, the remains of which still exist along the waterways. Across the city, rowers and punters also take to the water, traditions that are synonymous with the University and life in the city. A bathing spot at Mill Stream in Wolvercote up the river from Port Meadow, was, in April 2022, declared only the second stretch of river in the UK to achieve Designated Bathing Water Status.
However, the tranquillity of Oxford’s waterways, and the mental and physical health of residents who use them, is being affected by recent discharges of raw sewage. The source of these discharges in Port Meadow are two sewage treatment plants at Cassington and Witney, run by Thames Water. As of the 19th of January 2023, the Witney centre had been releasing sewage into the water for 532 hours—this means it began on the 28th of December 2022. When sewage is released from these plants, it feeds directly into the Thames and is carried throughout the city.
In October 2021 the Government stated that it was taking action to strengthen environmental laws and prevent such discharges by enshrining in law a duty for water companies to ‘secure a progressive reduction in the adverse impacts of discharges from storm overflows’. The BBC reported however that a proposal from the House of Lords to place a legal duty on water companies to reduce discharges was defeated by the government earlier in the same month. The government argued that safeguards already exist, and that the new proposed amendment would have cost billions.
Water companies have faced some official backlash over this issue. The government has previously fined Southern Water £90 million, while Thames Water has been fined £4 million and £2.3 million for separate incidents. Despite such fines and government statements, sewage discharges continue to frequently occur from Thames Water centres around Oxford. As the Oxford Mail reported, in 2021 Thames Water dumped sewage into rivers around Oxford 5,028 times. Thames Water have promised to invest £9 million into the Witney plant by 2024.
But what are the human effects of these sewage dumps, on residents and students who use the waterways for fitness, health, and recreation? Continuing the tradition of wild swimming in Oxford, a group of like-minded students got together in 2021 to form the group, Oxford University Wild Swimmers. They now hold regular sessions in Port Meadow, and Hinksey Lake. Speaking to Ellie Ford, who helped to form the group, it is clear that the effects of these discharges go beyond the environmental impact. In the Michaelmas term of 2022, the group’s swims faced constant cancellations and disruption due to sewage in the water. They have been vigilant and cancelled their sessions when these dumps occurred, but this has left uncertainty over when Port Meadow will be safe to for use this term.
Otherwise well attended swims, with 65 participants attending at the beginning of Michaelmas, were cancelled or moved to Hinksey Lake. Hinksey itself is often vulnerable to the effects of discharges, and its location means it is difficult for many students to attend. Underlying this, is the mental and physical health benefits many participate in wild swimming for, and the accessible nature, with no charges for swims. With constant cancellations due to sewage discharges, the group is frustrated and alarmed.
Ford’s own academic research has also been impacted, with her investigations into the mental health benefits of cold-water swimming being consistently disrupted. The lack of prior information about when dumps will occur has also caused disruption for participants in the study, with some planning to come from as far as Manchester, for no reimbursement, to take part.
Local Liberal Democrat MP, Layla Moran, has been vocal in her opposition to the sewage releases. She said she is ‘disgusted’ by the latest large-scale releases and called it an indictment of Thames Waters ‘shocking environmental performance.’ On a national level, former Undertones singer Feargal Sharkey has put aside his guitar to campaign for the nation to clean up its waterways, and recently said water companies were committing ‘Ecocide in their own backyard’ as reported by the Express.
Environmental groups and locals have also expressed anger at the sewage releases. Around 500 people gathered in January 2022 to protest, after outdoor swimmers taking part in a Christmas Day dip were not notified of a sewage discharge until 24 hours later, when they had already swum in the contaminated water. With releases continuing, more action is planned. Environmental group Extinction Rebellion recently held a protest on the 28th of January at Port Meadow. This is in response to, what the groups argue are, government failings in not doing enough to legislate for water companies to reduce the sewage discharges. They intend to symbolise their point by placing a blue plaque at the Wolvercote bathing spot. The famous bathing spot was rated ‘poor’ by the Environment Agency in its November 2022 assessment.
With sewage discharges continuing across the country, the situation in Oxford offers just a small glimpse of how they continue to affect not just the environment, but also ordinary residents and students who rely on the waterways for fitness, health, and study.