Swimmers who would love to swim in the River Avon in Bristol - only for Wessex Water discharged raw sewage into the river 23,524 times last year - are taking their campaign to City Hall on Tuesday. The swimmers in the campaign to get the Conham River Park designated for Bathing Water Status are saying some of them will attend the full council meeting of Bristol City Council in their swimwear and Speedos to show how much support there is for the move.
Getting the designated status would mean the Environment Agency would have to properly monitor the quality of the water at the River Park near Hanham - and be responsible for doing something about it, if Wessex Water continue to discharge raw sewage into the river to make it too dirty to swim in.
The application to get the status has to go to the Government’s Defra ministry, but it can’t because it needs the backing of the landowner at the Conham River Park site - and that’s Bristol City Council, and so far the council has refused to say it supports the move.
