England’s only three swimming rivers given ‘poor’ water quality status

The River Wharfe at Ilkley, one of only three rivers in England that have the special designation for swimming. Photograph: Ilkley Clean River Group

The three rivers designated for swimming in England have all been given “poor” status in newly published government water quality figures.

Data released by the Environment Agency on Friday showed that during the 2023 bathing season 96% of bathing waters in England met minimum standards, with 90% of bathing waters in England being rated as “good” or “excellent”. This was a decline from the previous year’s statistics that showed that 97% met the minimum standard of “sufficient”, while 93% met the highest standards of good and excellent.