The River Wharfe at Ilkley has a pebble beach and shallow paddling areas and has been a popular swimming location. The river is plagued by sewage and agricultural runoff and has been designated poor quality, with a sign warning against bathing. Campaigners and wild swimmers secured designated bathing status in 2021, triggering government testing for E coli and intestinal enterococci bacteria. Yorkshire entered drought in mid-June, prompting a hosepipe ban from early July and falling reservoir levels at 62.9%, well below the August average of 87.8%. Yorkshire Water applied for an emergency drought order to extract additional water from the Wharfe and reduce releases from Grimwith reservoir, and the Environment Agency approved the permit. Reduced flow will concentrate pollution, lower oxygen, raise temperatures, and risk fish deaths.
With its pebble beach and shallow areas for paddling, the River Wharfe at Ilkley has long been a popular swimming location in the pretty Yorkshire town. But plagued by sewage and agricultural runoff, the river has been designated as poor quality, and a sign has been put up warning people against bathing in it. And now, the health of the river has been put further at risk with emergency drought plans by Yorkshire Water to suck water from it to top up its reservoirs.
Prof Becky Malby, from the Ilkley Clean River Group, said: The less water in the river, the more that pollution is concentrated from agriculture and from sewage, which means the oxygen levels will be low. When it's warm and the river is in such low flow, the water heats up. This means that the fish in the river will overheat, suffocate and die. It's a disaster for the environment.
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