28 min listen
The Right to Swim
ratings:
Length:
28 minutes
Released:
Mar 1, 2022
Format:
Podcast episode
Description
On a hot summer's day the River Wharfe in Ilkley in West Yorkshire is a tempting place to swim. In 2020 it was designated as the first inland waterway to be safe for bathing. Just over a year later the water was found to be polluted by animal and human faeces and locals and tourists were advised to stay out of the river.
The River Wharfe certainly isn't unique, Britain's rivers are taking the brunt of rising populations, antiquated sewage treatment and intensive agriculture. Too much waste- human, animal and chemical- is entering our rivers, exposing swimmers and wildlife to infection. Extreme weather as experienced in February is only making matters worse.
Charlotte Smith and Caz Graham search for solutions to Britain's polluted rivers.
Producer: Hermeet Chadha
The River Wharfe certainly isn't unique, Britain's rivers are taking the brunt of rising populations, antiquated sewage treatment and intensive agriculture. Too much waste- human, animal and chemical- is entering our rivers, exposing swimmers and wildlife to infection. Extreme weather as experienced in February is only making matters worse.
Charlotte Smith and Caz Graham search for solutions to Britain's polluted rivers.
Producer: Hermeet Chadha
Released:
Mar 1, 2022
Format:
Podcast episode
Titles in the series (100)
The Power of Peat: The peatlands of the British Isles are being destroyed. Tom Heap reports. by Costing the Earth