I believe that friends in the UK will not be unfamiliar with the Thames River, which is known as the "lifeblood of England".
In London, life revolves around the river. Along the River Thames, Big Ben, Tower Bridge, the London Eye, The Shard and more are all important landmarks in London, witnessing the development and prosperity of this land.
There was once a quote that said, "Every drop of water in the River Thames contains British history." ”
However, the recent Thames seems to be a bit of a boast......
According to the Evening Banner, a British water purification group said the part of the River Thames that flows through London is "the most heavily sewaged".
The Henley Mermaids are a group of five women who regularly swim in the river. They claim to be "tired of the dirt of water, especially in the capital London".
They said they had to swim in water full of "condoms, hygiene products and paper".
Laura Reineke, a member, told the BBC: "We still swim in the river, but we don't stick our heads in the water and we swim very carefully......"
Reneke said there were even toilet boxes on the boat in the river. "It's so dirty, I've never seen anything so dirty. ”
They called for "the clean Thames to be returned to the public".
Shortly before that, Thames Water had detected high concentrations of E. coli in the annual competition between Oxford University and Cambridge University.
Leonard Jenkins, captain of the Oxford rowing team, complained that there was "too much" in the river when the team lost last weekend......
"I threw up this morning and I went into the race in a very bad state," he said. ”
'It's my responsibility to lose the game, I can't give it my all in the game. ”
"It would be nice if there wasn't so much feces in the water......"
Originally, there was a tradition in the Oxbridge competition where the champion team jumped into the river to celebrate, but this year, the official specifically stipulated that "no entry into the water" and "do not touch the water splashed by the paddle during the race".
E. coli was also found in regular testing conducted between Feb. 28 and March 26 by River Action and Fulham Reach Boat Club, a bacterium that "can cause serious infections."
Sixteen tests around Hammersmith Bridge in West London showed an average of 2869 E. coli colony-forming units (CFUs) per 100ml of water.
UNEP's level of quality standards requires less than 1000 CFU per 100 milliliters, while the highest level recorded was 9801 CFU per 100 milliliters, nearly 10 times higher than the level rated as "poor" by regulators.
Commenting on the dire situation, a Thames Water spokesperson said: "Taking action to improve the health of our rivers is our priority and we want to take the lead through a transparent approach to data. ”
While Thames Water has repeatedly underlined its commitment, River Action said that according to their research, the source of pollution at the test site was Thames Water's direct discharge of sewage into the river and its tributaries......
Previously, some residents claimed that Thames Water had allowed raw sewage to be discharged into the River Thames in Oxfordshire for 53 consecutive days.
South Morton locals told the Daily Mail that a nearby sewage overflow "killed everything in the river".
In response, Thames Water is taking a position that it plans to upgrade the South Morton wastewater plant in 2026.
A spokesperson for the company said: "We remain the only company that provides real-time warnings for all untreated emissions. This "near real-time" data is provided to customers in the form of maps, and can also be made available to third parties such as swimming and environmental groups through an open data platform.
"We have unveiled plans to upgrade more than 250 wastewater treatment plants and sewers. In addition to this, we are also increasing the capacity of some of the other Thames wastewater treatment plants. ”
Another report in the Evening Banner mentions that
A study by the GMB union surveyed 1,300 workers and found that violence had occurred, including machete attacks, and many workers felt "unsafe working alone".
Gary Carter, a state official at GMB, said: "It's shocking that no one should be exposed to danger while going to work...... As a result of the negligent actions of the water bosses, sewage dumping has skyrocketed, only to expose their own workers to physical and verbal violence.
"GMB calls for zero tolerance for mistreatment of water workers and calls on water shareholders to fund much-needed infrastructure to stop the unprecedented sewage spill. ”
This is not the first time in the UK that such a thing has happened.
The 2023 World Triathlon Championship Series in the UK took place on 29 and 30 July, with around 2,000 runners competing off the beaches of Sunderland.
And the swimming competition in everyone's imagination does it have a heroic posture, a supernatural competitive level and a passionate celebration and cheers....
(Photo: The Guardian)
Unexpectedly, however, the competition raised a wave of questions about the UK's water quality...
On 7 August, at least 57 athletes reported to the UK Health Safety Agency that they had diarrhoea and vomiting.
Jacob Birtwhistle, a famous triathlete from Australia, said angrily on his ins: "I have been feeling very uncomfortable after the race, maybe this is the consequence of swimming in......"
(Source: @jakebirtwhistle)
A number of other players also agreed with Jacob's opinion on social networking sites, saying that they were unwell after the match:
One of them said: "I finally understood what made me sick with a group of other athletes. ”
Some netizens also expressed their condemnation of the organizers, believing that this is a very irresponsible behavior:
"I can't believe the organizers let you swim in such polluted water."
So what is the water quality of the competition venue?
(News link: https://news.sky.com/story/dozens-of-swimmers-fall-ill-and-get-diarrhoea-at-sunderland-race-prompting-questions-over-sewage-discharges-12935329)
The source of the sewage is likely to come from Northumbrian Water. In 2022, Northumbrian Water discharged sewage from the River Will, near the triathlon venue, 28 times, according to the River Trust.
A 2022 study revealed that almost all rivers in the UK contain chemical pollutants.
Image Credits:
https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm5802/cmselect/cmenvaud/74/report.html
Sewage leaks have also greatly affected the hygiene of the beach. Every summer, travellers are warned not to swim at some of the UK's well-known beaches.